Czech billionaire ex-PM’s party tops parliamentary election vote

PRAGUE: The party of billionaire ex-premier Andrej Babis has topped the Czech general election according to near-final official results.

ANO secured 34.6% of the vote for a preliminary 80 seats in the 200-member parliament of the European Union and NATO member country.

Outgoing Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s Together grouping came second with 23.3%, ahead of its coalition partner STAN with 11.2%.

A total of six parties were elected including the Pirate Party with 8.9% and the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy with 7.8%.

A triumphant Babis hailed the “historic result” as “the absolute peak” of his political career.

“We will definitely lead talks with the SPD and the Motorists and seek a single-party government led by ANO,“ Babis said.

Babis added he would review a Czech-led international drive to supply artillery shells to Ukraine launched by Fiala’s government.

“We are clearly pro-European and pro-NATO,“ he added to dispel fears he might draw the Czech Republic closer to EU mavericks Hungary and Slovakia.

In the European Parliament, ANO is part of the far-right Patriots for Europe bloc which Babis co-founded with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Orban was quick to congratulate Babis on social media saying “Truth has prevailed” and calling it “good news for Europe”.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen also hailed Babis’s victory saying people across Europe are calling patriotic parties to power.

Fiala’s government has provided humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

“I congratulate the election winner, Andrej Babis,“ Fiala said while rejecting any efforts to rebuild the current governing coalition.

Turnout was high at almost 69% in the election.

The SPD is promoting a referendum on the Czech Republic leaving the European Union which Babis has vehemently rejected.

Its leader Tomio Okamura and Motorists head Petr Macinka both said they would meet Babis later on Saturday.

“I think the SPD will be the key player,“ Otto Eibl, an analyst at Masaryk University, told AFP.

Czech President Petr Pavel said he would start talks with the elected party heads on Sunday to tap the next premier.

Pavel, who beat Babis in a 2023 presidential run-off, met the ANO leader earlier this week to discuss the tycoon’s conflict of interest.

The seventh-wealthiest Czech according to Forbes magazine, Babis is also facing trial over EU subsidy fraud worth over $2 million.

Describing himself as a “peacemonger” calling for a truce in Ukraine, Babis has vowed a “Czechs first” approach.

When he was prime minister from 2017 to 2021, Babis was critical of some EU policies and is on good terms with Orban and Slovakia’s Robert Fico.

Charles University analyst Josef Mlejnek told AFP he did not expect “a fundamental change” in Czech foreign policy under Babis.

“Babis is a pragmatic businessman and the only thing he cares about is being prime minister,“ he added. – AFP