Populist billionaire Andrej Babiš and his ANO party emerged as the winners of the Czech Republic’s parliamentary elections.
Former Czech Prime Minister and populist billionaire Andrej Babiš and his ANO party emerged as the winners of the Czech Republic’s parliamentary elections on Saturday; however, a coalition-building process is likely to ensue before the next government is formed.
Babiš, who previously served as Czech prime minister from 2017 to 2021, is likely to be given the opportunity to form a government after his ANO party won 34.6 per cent of the vote on Saturday, topping the neo-liberal Spolu (Together) coalition of likely outgoing Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Blesk reports.
The victory for the billionaire businessman, often described as Czechia’s Trump, may potentially strengthen the Ukraine-war critical bloc in the European Union, alongside fellow Visegrad leaders Robert Fico in Slovakia and Viktor Orbán in Hungary.
However, with his party projected to have won 80 seats in the 200-seat Czech parliament, Babiš will either need to build a coalition or govern from a minority position with the support of other parties in the legislature.
