Populist billionaire Andrej Babis’ party wins Czech parliamentary election

PRAGUE — Billionaire Andrej Babis became another populist leader in Central Europe to stage a political comeback by winning big in the Czech Republic’s parliamentary election, according to nearly complete results Saturday.

That result could steer the country away from supporting Ukraine and toward Hungary and Slovakia, which have taken a pro-Russian path.

With the results of 99.5% of the polling stations counted by the Statistics Office, Babis’ ANO (YES) movement captured 34.7% of the vote, soundly beating the Together conservative coalition of Prime Minister Petr Fiala, which received 23.2%.

Babis was jubilant after his best electoral result, calling it “historic” for himself and his catchall political group since it stormed into national politics in 2013.

“We want the Czech Republic to become the best place for life in the European Union, and we will do everything to make it happen,” he told his supporters and the media.

With the victory, Babis would join the ranks of Prime Ministers Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Robert Fico of Slovakia, whose countries have refused to provide military aid to Ukraine, have continued to import Russian oil and oppose European Union sanctions on Russia.

The Czech Republic has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The country has donated arms, including heavy weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces and is behind an initiative that acquires artillery shells Ukraine badly needs from countries outside the EU.

“We don’t like it,” Babis said about that internationally recognized initiative. “We have a different view of it.”

The opposition led by Babis blamed Fiala for all the troubles of recent years, including an energy crisis and soaring inflation, and pledged to revoke his pension reform and help for Ukraine.

Fiala congratulated him, saying the result was clear and “it’s necessary to accept it.”

Fiala’s campaign focused on security amid Russia’s war on Ukraine.

A group of mayors known as STAN, also a member of Fiala’s government, had 11.1% of the vote, with another ally of Fiala, the Pirates party, garnering 8.7%.

The major anti-immigrant force, the Freedom and Direct Democracy party, got 7.9%, while a right-wing group calling itself the Motorists collected 6.8%.

Babis said his aim was to form a one-party government, and he will have to seek tolerance from the two groups.

The two-day election filled 200 seats in the lower house of the Czech parliament. Babis’ party won 80 seats, the Freedom party has 15 and the Motorists 13. The Together coalition won 52.

He joined forces last year with his friend Orbán, Hungary’s right-wing authoritarian, to create a new alliance in the European Parliament, dubbed the Patriots for Europe, to represent hard-right groups, a significant shift from the liberal Renew group that Babis previously belonged to.

The Patriots are united by anti-immigrant rhetoric, a critical stance toward EU policies tackling climate change, and the protection of national sovereignty.

The Motorists, who are backed by former EU-skeptic President Vaclav Klaus, share those views, while the Freedom party wants to lead the country out of the European Union and NATO and plans to expel almost all of some 380,000 Ukrainian refugees from the country.

“We’re clearly pro-European and pro-NATO,” Babis nonetheless declared after the victory.

President Petr Pavel is scheduled to meet with Babis and other party leaders Sunday. The head of the strongest political force usually gets a chance from the president to form a new government.

If he wants to govern alone, his minority Cabinet would need at least tacit support from the Freedom party and the Motorists to win a mandatory parliamentary confidence vote to rule.

The result was a fiasco for a coalition of four far-left fringe parties led by the maverick Communists who are openly pro-Russian and failed to win a seat.

Janicek writes for the Associated Press.