The current tug-of-war between President Petr Pavel and Andrej Babiš centres on how the ANO leader — and billionaire owner of Agrofert — should publicly address his business interests before being appointed prime minister. While it dominates today’s headlines, history shows that such tensions between the Castle and the head of government have appeared many times before. In this Czechast special, we explore how these power dynamics shaped politics from the First Republic to the present day.