Very few studies have systematically examined going-public tactics in semi-presidential systems. Previous research from presidential systems in the US and Latin America shows that such public strategies often work in favour of the presidents. This paper focuses on the link between presidents’ going-public tactics and intra-executive conflicts in three European semi-presidential regimes. Drawing on both primary and secondary data on president-cabinet relations and intra-executive conflicts, including expert interviews, we examine how presidents in Finland, Lithuania, and Romania vested with relatively weak constitutional powers use informal strategies of going public to increase their influence on government and policy. Our study confirms that during intra-executive conflict, the deliberate strategy of public grandstanding often benefits the presidents but is moderated particularly by shared norms about the role of the presidency among the political elites.