PRAGUE (AP) — Czechs cast ballots on Saturday in the second and final day of a parliamentary election that could put the country on a course away from…
Czechs cast ballots on Saturday in the second and final day of a parliamentary election that could put the country on a course away from supporting Ukraine and toward Hungary and Slovakia, which have taken a pro-Russian path.
Billionaire Andrej Babiš is predicted to be the latest populist leader in Central Europe to stage an electoral comeback. Opinion polls favor Babis to beat a pro-Western coalition led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala that defeated him in the 2021 vote.
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, continue 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.
