Former PM Babiš wins Czech election
Andrej Babiš's ANO party has won the parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic with 34.5 percent of the vote. After four years in the opposition, the former prime minister is now poised to make a comeback. Commentators discuss the reasons behind the billionaire's success and discuss whether the Czech Republic will now abandon its pro-European, pro-Ukrainian course.
Another populist messiah
Many Czechs see Babiš as their saviour, Český rozhlas explains:
“In an uncertain, war-torn and unpredictable world, more than a third of voters refused to consider realistic and rational solutions to our problems and decided to entrust their future to a man who has churned out one promise after another at an incredible speed without worrying about whether they were even remotely credible or achievable. ... Babiš's clear victory resembles those of Donald Trump and other populist politicians such as Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico. It is the victory of a messiah whom people believe will save them.”
Living standards narrative won out
Hospodářské noviny explains the election result as follows:
“These elections were about which narrative would prevail: that of the government, which was based on the need for civilisational defence against an aggressive Russia, or that of the opposition, which focused on domestic issues such as energy prices, housing construction and real incomes. And the majority of Czechs decided according to the proverb: near is my shirt, but nearer is my skin. The issue of living standards won out across the board. ... Only a minority asked themselves what good a cheap flat would be to them if it were to be hit by a Russian missile.”
Ammunition deliveries to Kyiv at risk
LB.ua voices concern:
“Babiš has repeatedly stated that if he wins the election he will discontinue the initiative to supply ammunition to Ukraine. The ANO leader and several politicians in his party claim that too much taxpayer money is being spent on this programme - which isn't true, of course, as all costs are covered by other EU countries. The Czech president is trying to convince Babiš not to shut down the 'Czech initiative'. ... Babiš could change the format of this initiative to supply artillery shells to Ukraine in order to fulfil his election promises. One possible option would be to place the programme under the umbrella of Nato.”
A balancing act for the EU
NRC sees Babiš's election victory as a problem for the EU:
“His election fits in with a worrying trend for the EU in Central and Eastern Europe. ... European integration is not going smoothly. Countries that have benefited greatly from the economic advantages the EU has brought them in recent years seem less enthusiastic about what the bloc is asking in return: solidarity and the willingness to solve problems together. In the coming years Europe faces a complicated task: integrating the Czech Republic and other countries in the East into the EU without compromising the bloc's ideals and principles.”
No cause for alarm
Rzeczpospolita is confident that the Czech Republic will not abandon the course set by Petr Fiala's liberal-conservative government:
“The ruling coalition and its allies portrayed these elections as a battle between Europe and the West - which they think they represent - and the populists and extremists who collaborate with Russia. This sounds good in the election campaign but does not necessarily reflect the real dividing line in Czech society. ... President Petr Pavel will certainly not allow important positions in foreign and security policy to be filled by extremists. And Babiš seems to understand this. On Saturday evening the president optimistically announced that the results had clearly confirmed 'the pro-Western orientation of our country'.”