Czech Republic elects parliament: local Trump may win the election
3 October 11:03
on October 3-4, the Czech Republic will hold parliamentary elections, the results of which could change the country’s pro-Ukrainian stance. The main contender for victory is former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who intends to cut aid to Ukraine and move away from the pro-European course.
This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Reuters.
In particular, Babish wants to put an end to the initiative to supply artillery ammunition to Ukraine. He also intends to fight the EU’s “green” agenda and the migration pact, and said he is open to alliances with parties that oppose further aid to Ukraine.
The rating of the ANO (Action of Dissatisfied Citizens) movement, headed by Babiš, has been steadily holding at 30%. However, these votes are not enough to form a government on their own. Only after gaining a majority in the parliament will Babiš be able to nominate his candidacy for the post of prime minister.
According to various estimates, ANO could win between 66 and 75 seats, but it needs to take 101 seats to gain a majority in parliament. The pro-European ruling SPOLU (“Together”) coalition of current Prime Minister Petr Fiala is behind the ANO by about 10 percentage points.
The Czech Republic is a parliamentary republic, so the main role in governing the country is played by the prime minister, who heads the government. The president is the head of state and represents the country abroad, and has the right to veto laws.
The current president of the Czech Republic is pro-European politician Petr Pavel. If Andrej Babiš returns to the post of prime minister, the president will have fewer opportunities to support the course of assistance to Kyiv.
Babiš is often called the “Czech Trump” and compared to the US president. He considers the American leader to be his friend. Babiš also advocates a closer focus on domestic politics and a move away from unconditional funding of Ukraine.
ANO supporters often come to election rallies wearing red baseball caps with the inscription “Strong Czech Republic”. This slogan was inspired by Trump’s MAGA movement.
“Babiš’s populist views are in many ways similar to the program of the American president. Trump, who was able to win the election in 2024 thanks to the support of the so-called Rust Belt working states. Babiš is also relying on voters in the Czech Republic’s industrial areas in his campaign,” Politico writes.
Babiš is campaigning under the slogan “Choose a better life”. He promises Czechs lower prices and taxes, higher pensions and a lower retirement age, cheap mortgages, and cheap gas and electricity.
The vote in the Czech Republic will be closely watched in Brussels, as many European politicians accuse Babiš of being pro-Russian and put him on a par with Hungarian and Slovak leaders Viktor Orban and Robert Fico.
However, more than Babiš himself, Brussels is concerned about smaller parties, without alliances with which ANO will not be able to gain a majority in parliament.
Among Babiš’s potential allies are the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (FDP) party, the Motorists movement, and the anti-establishment Stachilo (Enough!) alliance. All these parties are accused in Brussels of sympathizing with Moscow.
Some of Babiš’s potential allies also support referendums on leaving the EU and NATO. ANO assures that this will not happen.
“We criticize the European Union, but we don’t want to destroy it, we want to reform it. As for NATO… well, we can criticize a lot, but joining NATO was the most important milestone in the history of the Czech Republic, and our position is to strengthen it,” said Karel Havlicek, deputy leader of the ANO party.
The parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic will last two days: polling stations will be open from 14:00 to 22:00 (15:00 – 23:00 Kyiv time) on October 3 and from 8:00 to 14:00 (09:00 – 15:00 Kyiv time) on October 4. The first results will be announced on Saturday evening, October 4.
