Czech television Monday broadcast a fist-fight between Health Minister David Rath and presidential advisor Miroslav Macek before a stunned crowd at a dentists' conference.
Macek, a dentist by profession, smacked Rath on the back of the head, during a presentation Saturday, saying he was settling a private matter.
Rath called him a coward and the two exchanged blows before others on the stage broke them apart.
Rath is a candidate in next month's general elections as a member of the governing center-left Social Democrats. He called the attack political.
Maeck, a member of the opposition center right Civic Democratic Party, said Rath insulted his wife.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.