Prague Pulse
Trying to decode the delightful absurdities of Central and Eastern European politics.
In a region where "bizarre" is just another Tuesday, I do my best to mix solid research with straightforward chats and a sprinkle of sarcasm to make sense of the senseless. I'm Jan, a political scientist, and I would love to explore this fascinatingly unpredictable piece of the world together! Warning: views expressed here are as personal as my beer preference—strong, frothy, and occasionally bitter. Proceed accordingly.
Big thanks to everyone supporting me on HeroHero.co/praguepulse. Got questions or wanna collaborate? Hit me up at jan@michalcak.eu.
Prague Pulse
POLISH PRIME MINISTER IN KYIV
Polish PM Donald Tusk is visiting Kyiv right now. He is meeting with President Zelensky. This marks the fourth time since the Russian invasion started that Tusk is visitng the country. Not a long ago, Czech President Pavel also paid a visit to the besieged country.
4 hours ago | [YT] | 3
View 0 replies
Prague Pulse
Today, we've published a video where we explain why Trump's lust after Greenland may be very bad news for Central Europe. Now, which one of the V4 country leaders do YOU think has been handling the Greenland crisis best so far, and why? Tell us in the comments!
2 days ago | [YT] | 2
View 1 reply
Prague Pulse
WHEN TRUMP TAKES GREENLAND, WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR (CENTRAL) EUROPE?
A new video is out! Today, we look at the (still hypothetical) possibility of Trump annexing Greenland. What would it mean for the Heart of Europe - Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary? Believe it or not, the consequences would be enormous. Do watch the video and let me know what you think! Will Trump make a move or not?
3 days ago | [YT] | 1
View 0 replies
Prague Pulse
MASSIVE PROTESTS IN CZECHIA
Massive protests are underway in cities across Czechia right now. This follows the blackmail attempt by Czechia's Foreign Minister Petr Macinka against President Petr Pavel. In Prague, both major squares (Wenceslas Square and Old Town Square) are completely filled up. Protests are also underway in other cities. So far, more than 500,000 people have signed a petition in support of the President.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Minister/professional blackmailer has doubled down on his rhetoric. He said today that "he will simply ignore the President in the future" and that he considers the President "the leader of the opposition".
3 days ago | [YT] | 24
View 3 replies
Prague Pulse
Whenever a country from the Heart of Europe makes it into international media, it mostly means something bizarre and/or terrible has happened. At least lately. Aaaand Czechia has done it again.
If you want more background on the stand-off between the Czech government and President, don't forget to watch our latest video.
1 week ago | [YT] | 12
View 0 replies
Prague Pulse
I wasn't planning to make this video, BUT the new Czech government has started to openly BLACKMAIL the Czech President. Yeah, you heard me. So we need to talk about it.
1 week ago | [YT] | 6
View 0 replies
Prague Pulse
🚨 CZECH POLITICS JUST HIT A NEW LOW: BLACKMAIL AT THE CASTLE? 🇨🇿
Things in Prague just went from "tense" to "unprecedented." President Petr Pavel has just held an extraordinary briefing to address what he calls a direct attempt at BLACKMAIL by the current Foreign Minister, Petr Macinka (representing the Motorists party).
In a move for total transparency, the President personally published two text messages sent to him by Macinka (via an advisor) to prove the nature of the threats he's facing. Mind you. This isn't a leak—it’s a public exposé of how the new Czech government is running business.
Here is what’s in those texts:
- The Demand: Macinka is pressuring the President to appoint Filip Turek (the Neo-Nazi car-influencer) as Minister.
The Threat: If Pavel doesn't comply, Macinka claims he will "burn bridges" in a way that will be studied in "political science textbooks as an extreme case of cohabitation".
The Leverage: Macinka is using military aid to Ukraine as a bargaining chip. He claims the only reason Ukraine hasn't received L-159 jets is because of Pavel’s media comments and threatens to tell this "truth" to top foreign partners and media during his trip to Brussels this Wednesday.
The "Support": Macinka claims he has the full backing of PM Andrej Babiš and Tomio Okamura (SPD) for this approach.
The President’s Response: Pavel stated clearly: "No intimidation works with me.". He has labeled this an "absolutely unacceptable" attack on democratic standards and is referring the messages to security forces and lawyers to determine if a crime has been committed.
Is this the start of a "political science textbook" disaster or the moment the new coalition overplayed its hand?
See the attached (machine-translated) screenshot below (you probably need to click to see the full size).
Stay tuned to Prague Pulse—I’m working on a full breakdown of this absolute circus. 🎪
1 week ago | [YT] | 6
View 0 replies
Prague Pulse
The newest video is out! What awaits Central Europe in 2026? WIll Orban lose, after more than 15 years in power? Will Poland continue to be un-governable, yet THE key military shield for all of us? WIll Andrej Babiš FINALLY grow a spine? So many questions! And I hope we have (at least some) answers! Thanks for being here with us in 2026 :)
1 week ago | [YT] | 6
View 0 replies
Prague Pulse
BULGARIAN PRESIDENT RESIGNS
The President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev has just announced his intention to abdicate tomorrow, January 20th. This fuels speculation that he might be about to establish his own party and run in the snap parliamentary election, which is coming in a few months. My question is: would you be interested in some coverage on Bulgaria as well? It's not one of the traditional focuses of Prague Pulse, but might certainly be interesting. The call is yours! let me know in the comments!
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 9
View 5 replies
Prague Pulse
"I bought myself a globe to find out where exactly Greenland is" - said Czechia's PM Babiš when asked about Trump's threats against the autonomous region of Denmark, an EU Member State and Czechia's Ally in NATO. Babiš has also ruled out Czechia would help Denmark in any way if attacked by the US. That's what you get from a country which has been betrayed by its own allies as well in the past. More than once. Disgusting.
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 10
View 2 replies
Load more