Babiš pledges loyalty to Europe as Czech government talks begin
Babiš has called for a truce in Ukraine and vowed a "Czechs first" approach. However, he ruled out a referendum on leaving the EU
Andrej Babiš vowed loyalty to Europe on Sunday as he started talks to form a new government, a day after his party topped national elections.
Final results showed that Babiš’ ANO (Yes) party won 34.5% of the vote on Friday and Saturday, earning 80 seats in the 200-member parliament. Babiš said he would seek backing for his government from the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) movement, which won 15 seats, and right-wing newcomers the Motorists, who took 13 seats.
A self-proclaimed “Trumpist”, Babiš won over voters with pledges of welfare spending and halting military aid to Ukraine. “We have discussed the election result and our position in NATO and the EU. I keep seeing negative information… and I think it’s not fair,” Babiš told reporters after meeting President Petr Pavel on Sunday morning.
The 71-year-old stressed he was pro-European and wanted “Europe to work well”. But a day before the vote, Babiš said that Czechia should help Ukraine through the EU – not directly, as it has been.
Asked by a Ukrainian reporter whether he would support Kyiv’s accession bid, Babiš said the country was “not ready for the EU”. “We have to end the war first,” he added.
Babiš has also pledged to review a Czech-led international drive to supply artillery shells to Ukraine, launched by Fiala’s government, and “discuss it with (Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelensky” if necessary.
‘Czechs first’
ANO is part of the far-right Patriots for Europe bloc, which Babiš co-founded with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Babiš met the heads of the far-right SPD and the Motorists on Saturday evening but declined to comment on the outcome, saying only the talks were “mostly positive”.
“We will definitely… seek a single-party government led by ANO,” Babiš said. But whilst the SPD is pushing a referendum on leaving the EU, Babiš has vehemently rejected such a move.
President Pavel has voiced concern over Babiš’ conflict of interest as a businessman and politician. According to Forbes magazine, Babiš is the seventh-wealthiest Czech. He is also facing trial over EU subsidy fraud worth more than $2 million.
He is charged with taking his farm south of Prague out of his sprawling Agrofert food and chemicals holding in 2007 to make it eligible for an EU subsidy for small companies.
Describing himself as a “peacemonger” calling for a truce in Ukraine, Babiš has vowed a “Czechs first” approach, echoing US President Donald Trump.
In his term as prime minister from 2017 to 2021, Babiš was critical of some EU policies and is on good terms with Orbán and Slovakia’s Robert Fico, who have maintained ties with Moscow.
frj/cw
