SPD stated in its campaign agenda: "The Czech Republic doesn't want war. We want an army that will defend our territory and citizens, but we reject the arms race and support for Ukraine, especially on credit, which would drag the Czech Republic into conflicts that aren't in our interest." When Defense Min. Jaromír Zůna contradicted this, despite representing SPD, the party's officials and voters strongly objected. Pres. Petr Pavel then supported Zůna, saying yesterday that "he [Zůna] didn't say anything different from what SPD had put its name to right after the aggression began in 2022." Pavel was alluding to a House resolution in favor of Ukraine that passed unanimously on Feb. 24, 2022. Yet two years later, ANO and SPD refused to support a new House resolution, and SPD has been consistent ever since. Pavel might be able to win his confrontation with MP Filip Turek by harnessing public opinion, but it won't work with SPD. The harder he tries, the more he'll come to be seen as the war president.