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Czech President Petr Pavel made public two text messages sent to him by Foreign Minister Macinka. Stating that he finds them “extremely serious,” Pavel said: “I consider the minister’s words to be an attempt at blackmail. This is unacceptable under democratic conditions.”

President Pavel added that in the messages Macinka refers to the support of the Czech prime minister and SPD leader Tomio Okamura, and continued:

“If he truly has the prime minister’s support, Macinka’s statements demonstrate the new government’s approach to power sharing and the use of foreign policy and security issues for personal interests. If he does not have such support, this is merely an irresponsible initiative by his party, Motoristé sobě, and an attempt to realize his political ambitions.”

Pavel stressed that attempts at threats and blackmail are unacceptable in any democratic country and highlighted the importance of citizens seeing the positions of their elected representatives. He also noted that this attempt against him could affect the Czech Republic’s international credibility.

Pavel announced that the messages would be forwarded to security authorities and submitted to lawyers for legal review. Petr Pavel said: “Attempts to intimidate me will not be effective; I will continue to act in line with the constitution and the interests of the Czech Republic.”