PRAGUE (AP) — The new Czech Republic coalition government of populist Prime Minister Andrej Babiš on Tuesday faced a parliamentary no-confidence vote over the handling of a dispute with the country’s president.
The opposition parties that requested the vote have sided with President Petr Pavel, who accused Foreign Minister Petr Macinka of blackmailing him, because he refused to appoint a government minister representing the right-wing Motorists for Themselves euroskeptic party. Macinka heads the Motorists.
Pavel said that Filip Turek was ineligible to become the environment minister after a daily newspaper published posts from his Facebook page found to be openly racist, homophobic and sexist.
Turek apologized for some posts, but denied that he posted some others.
Macinka accused the president of violating the country’s constitution and threatened him with consequences, including working to prevent Pavel from representing the country at a NATO summit this year, if he fails to appoint his associate.
Tens of thousands of Czechs rallied Sunday in the capital, Prague, and elsewhere in support of the president.
Babiš has rejected opposition calls to dismiss Macinka, who has refused to apologize. The government has a majority to survive the vote in the lower house of Parliament. The timing of the vote is uncertain, but it could come as soon as Tuesday.
The president and the prime minister are scheduled to meet Wednesday over the issue.
Pavel swore in a new government on Dec. 15 after Babiš and his ANO, or YES, movement won big in the country’s October election and agreed to form a majority coalition with two small political groups, the Freedom and Direct Democracy anti-migrant party and the Motorists.
The coalition's agenda includes steering the country away from supporting Ukraine and rejecting some key European Union policies.
Unlike the new government, Pavel, a retired army general, and the opposition, are staunch supporters of Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion.
People gather in support of Czech President Petr Pavel at the Old Town Square in Prague, Czech Republic, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (Ondrej Deml/CTK via AP)
From left, European Council President Antonio Costa, Czech Republic's Prime Minister Andrej Babis and European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas speak during a round table meeting at the EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
OSLO, Norway (AP) — The son of Norway’s crown princess pleaded not guilty to rape charges as he went on trial Tuesday for multiple alleged offenses, opening weeks of proceedings in a case that has cast a shadow on the royal family’s image.
Marius Borg Høiby, 29, is the eldest son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship and the stepson of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon. Høiby has no royal title or official duties.
Høiby stood for 24 minutes while prosecutor Sturla Henriksbø read out the 38 counts against him at the Oslo district court, asking him if he pleaded guilty. He replied “no” to each of the most serious charges, including the four counts of rape.
The charges also include abuse in a close relationship against one former partner, acts of violence against another and transporting 3.5 kilograms (7.7 pounds) of marijuana. Others include making death threats and traffic violations.
Høiby pleaded guilty to several driving offenses, to an aggravated drugs offense and breaking a restraining order, and “partly” to threats and aggravated assault. Wearing glasses, a brown sweater and beige trousers, he spoke quietly and conferred regularly with his lawyer. A court official moved the microphone to better pick up his answers.
Prosecutors have said that Høiby could face up to 10 years in prison, if convicted in the trial, which is scheduled to last until March 19. Seven alleged victims are expected to testify.
“There is equality before the law," Henriksbø told the court. "The defendant is the son of the crown princess. He is part of the royal family. He shall nevertheless be treated in the same way as any other person who is charged with the same offenses.”
Henriksbø spent the morning setting out, sometimes in graphic detail, the case against Høiby. The defendant sat between defense lawyers Ellen Holager Andenæs and Petar Sekulic for the beginning of the trial and moved later to a table behind them, where he fiddled with a chain while the prosecutor outlined the allegations.
Reflecting international interest in the trial, Judge Jon Sverdrup Efjestad addressed the court in English, warning that it was prohibited to record or take photographs in the courtroom and advising that some witness testimony would be heard behind closed doors.
The investigation began in 2024. Police were first called to an apartment in Oslo's upscale Frogner neighborhood in early August that year following reports of a violent incident. Høiby was arrested and later released, but the case expanded as additional women came forward with allegations against him.
The indictment that prosecutors filed last year centers on four alleged rapes between 2018 and November 2024; alleged violence and threats against a former partner between the summer of 2022 and the fall of 2023; and two alleged acts of violence against a subsequent partner, along with violations of a restraining order.
It was expanded in January, when Høiby was charged with six new offenses, including possession and delivery of large quantities of marijuana and further restraining order violations.
He was free pending trial until Sunday, when police said that he was arrested over new allegations of assault, threats with a knife and violation of a restraining order.
The Oslo court on Monday granted their request to keep him in detention for up to four weeks on the grounds of a risk of reoffending. Defense lawyer Petar Sekulic said that the arrest followed an alleged “incident” involving another person on Sunday.
He declined to give details, but said that Høiby contests his detention and his legal team was considering an appeal as soon as he and the other person can provide statements to police.
Haakon said last week that he and Mette-Marit don't plan to attend the trial and that the royal house doesn't intend to comment during the proceedings.
King Harald, 88, and the royals are generally popular in Norway, but the Høiby case has been a problem for the family's image.
The trial opened at a particularly sensitive moment for the royal family. Mette-Marit faces renewed scrutiny over her past contacts with Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 in a New York jail cell as he faced sex trafficking charges, following the release on Friday of a new batch of documents from the Epstein files.
They contained several hundred mentions of the crown princess, who already said in 2019 that she regretted having had contact with Epstein, Norwegian media reported. The documents, which include email exchanges, showed that Mette-Marit borrowed an Epstein-owned property in Palm Beach, Florida, for several days in 2013. Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported that the stay was arranged through a mutual friend, which was later confirmed by the royal household.
Mette-Marit said in a statement that she “must take responsibility for not having investigated Epstein’s background more thoroughly, and for not realizing sooner what kind of person he was.” She added: “I showed poor judgment and regret having had any contact with Epstein at all. It is simply embarrassing.”
Mark Lewis reported from Stavanger. Geir Moulson contributed to this report from Berlin.
A court sketch of Marius Borg Hoiby is drawn during the first day of the trial against him, which is taking place in room 250 of the Oslo District Court, Norway, Tuesday Feb. 3, 2026. (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix/Pool via AP)
A court sketch of Marius Borg Hoiby during the first day of the trial against him, which is taking place in room 250 of the Oslo District Court, Norway, Tuesday Feb. 3, 2026. (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix/Pool via AP)
Prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo, right, investigation leader Andreas Kruszewski, left, and defense attorney John Christian Elden, speak during the first day of the trial against Marius Borg Hoiby, charged with a total of 38 incidents, including four rapes, assault, violence, threats, damage, storage and delivery of marijuana, violation of a restraining order and violation of the Road Traffic Act, in Oslo, Norway, Tuesday Feb. 3, 2026.(Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Defense attorneys Ellen Holager Andenaes, left, and Petar Sekulic, sit at the start of the first day of trial against Marius Borg Hoiby, charged with a total of 38 incidents, including four rapes, assault, violence, threats, damage, storage and delivery of marijuana, violation of a restraining order and violation of the Road Traffic Act, in Oslo, Norway, Tuesday Feb. 3, 2026.(Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Administrator Jon Sverdrup Efjestad sits during the first day of the trial against Marius Borg Hoiby, charged with a total of 38 incidents, including four rapes, assault, violence, threats, damage, storage and delivery of marijuana, violation of a restraining order and violation of the Road Traffic Act, in Oslo, Norway, Tuesday Feb. 3, 2026.(Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Members of the media gather ahead of the first day of the trial against Marius Borg Høiby in Oslo, Norway Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (Lise Åserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)
FILE - Norway's Marius Borg Hoiby and Crown Princess Mette-Marit in Oslo, June 16, 2022. (Lise Aserud/NTB via AP, File)
