Czech Republic: former PM Babis set for victory in parliamentary elections • FRANCE 24 English

Well, Donald Trump has not only permanently transformed American politics. His influence on Europe’s political landscape is now also ubiquitous. In just the latest example, voters in the Czech Republic are casting ballots today in the first of a two-day general election. You can see some live pictures of uh residents of the Czech Republic voting there. Now, the front runner in this election is the party of none other than Andre Babish, who’s a self-described Trumpist and billionaire who has also pledged to give less support to Ukraine. He’s also an ally of Hungary’s Victor Orbin. For more, we’re going to cross now to our correspondent Ian Willoughby in Prague. Hi, Ian. So, I mean, what are the main issues that have been dominating uh the campaign ahead of this election? Well, the issues dominating the campaign have included migration, economic issues, support for Ukraine, and the future of Czech public media. But many people are saying that this election is in fact a very a battle for the very future political orientation of the Czech Republic. The front runner, the main opposition party, Ano, is a populist party headed by Andre Babes, who you referred to. He’s a bis a billionaire businessman who is an admirer of Donald Trump. His party even had red caps made up and they’re in the same group in the European Parliament as France’s National Rally and Austria’s Freedom Party. And some believe that a government headed by ANO could lead Czecha to as you said also lead Czecha to follow the lead of Hungary and Slovakia by essentially turning against Europe and critics would say toward Russia. Uh meanwhile, the parties in the current coalition government here in Czecha, they’ve been trying to mobilize their supporters by warning that this is a vote for the very future of the country, for the future of democracy in this country. Anno would say that that’s nonsense, however, and that there’s no danger to democracy in Czecha. So, what do you think is the lightly likely outcome, Ian? I mean, it’s being said that Babash’s party is is is leading. What else have the polls suggested thus far? Well, ANMO are certainly going to come first. Uh they’ve been on 30% in the polls for quite a long time. In fact, they got 30% in the last elections, but were unable to form a coalition. But what’s more interesting is who comes behind them and who ANO could potentially form a coalition with. One potential partner is a party called Freedom and Direct Democracy. They are anti-EU, anti- migrant, a far-right party who are calling for a a referendum on checks remaining in the European Union so-called Cheit. Another possible partner for Andre Babes and Shan ano are a grouping called enough featuring the Communist Party and that will be interesting because the communists have never been in any Czech government since the fall of the communist regime here 35 years ago. Also, what’s possible, however, is that one of the parties in the current central right government could go with ANO. Uh, both sides have been saying they would never get into bed together, and that’s a total no and impossibility. But, of course, we’ll see how the cards fall and what the situation will be. But, uh, I should also say it’s not impossible that the current current the current central government parties and others could somehow win and form a government. But nobody here would be betting the house on that. That seems very unlikely. In any case, things will be clearer, a lot clearer after the polls close here in uh just under 24 hours. A few hours later, we will have a much clearer idea of what the future holds for Czecha. Ian Willoughby, our correspondent in Prague. Thank you very much.

Czechs began voting on Friday in an election likely to oust their centre-right government, with polls favouring populist billionaire Andrej Babis to return to power on pledges to raise wages and lift growth while reducing aid for Ukraine. The change would boost Europe’s populist anti-immigration camp and could complicate consensus on climate policies in a country where no sitting government has won a second term since 1996. Details by FRANCE 24 correspondent in Prague, Ian Willoughby.
#CzechRepublic #elections #Ukraine

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19 comments

  2. The capacity of people to vote against their own interest fascinates me… Seems like all it takes is a left that disconnected itself from its electorate problems, some open racism and blaming Europe for the failures of your country.

    What future is there for the Czechs to vote like that? Are they nostalgic of a simpler time when Russia decided who ruled? Is it the UK results of Brexit? The way the USA are sabotaging their economy for the long term?

    Do they intend to stay in the EU to benefit from it while sabotaging it? What's the program?

  3. Well, how about the EU vote on removing Hungary and Slovakia from the EU and then kick them both out of NATO! I wonder if Czech people would want to follow that!

  4. This is so depressing, literally nobody to vote for. No long term strategies, no nuanced solutions to difficult problems, only picking between extremes and the same people that have been taking turns there for decades.

  11. Factually wrong. The Czech communist party had a presence in the Czech parliament.until 2022. Babis' party was supported by them during his first term as PM.

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