Prague – Right-wing populist Andrejโข Babis and his ANO party emerged as theโ strongest forceโฃ in the Czech Republic’s parliamentary election, securing 34.6% of the vote – an increase of almost 7.5 percentageโค points since 2021 – and 80 of the 200 โseats โฃinโ the Chamber of โDeputies, according to official โdata from the Czech Statistics Authority. Despite lacking aโค majority, Babis announced his intention to form a โsingle-party minorityโ government, seeking tolerationโ agreements with theโข “motorists” party โขand Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) led by Tomio Okamura.
President Petr Pavel has begun โฃconsultations with partyโฃ leaders regarding government formation, โฃbeginning with Babis at Prague Castle. During โขthe campaign, Babis pledged โฃto haltโ arms deliveries to โขUkraine, reduce โtaxes, and lower energy costs, while opposing the EU’s asylum and migration pact and Green Deal.
The Spolu alliance,โ led by Prime โMinisterโ Petr Fiala, saw โฃits โsupport fall to 23.3% (down from 27.8% โin 2021),โข whileโ the Mayors party receivedโข 11.2% of the vote.
ANO โคhas shifted its โฃalignment โขwithin the Europeanโข Parliament, moving from the Renew Europe group to the right-wing populist and extremist “Patriotsโฃ for Europe”โข grouping, alongsideโ partiesโฃ like Hungary’s Fidesz and France’s RN. โHungarian Primeโ Minister Viktor Orbรกn hailed the result asโข a “big step” for the Czech Republic. Babisโ also congratulated Slovak Prime Minister โขRobert Ficoโข on his recent election โขvictory.
Potential coalition partners, such as the SPD (7.8% of the vote), have demands that may pose challenges, including callsโ for referendums on EU โand NATOโ membership – which Babis rejectsโ – and the return of Ukrainian refugees. The motorists party seeks a rollback of theโ 2035 ban on internal combustion engine vehicles.
