PRAGUE — PRAGUE (AP) — Czech voters started casting ballots Friday in a two-day common election that might steer the nation away from supporting Ukraine and towards Hungary and Slovakia, threatening to additional divide the European Union and NATO.
Billionaire Andrej Babiš is predicted to be the newest populist chief in Central Europe to stage a political comeback. Opinion polls put the previous prime minister on target for victory over a pro-Western coalition led by Petr Fiala that defeated him within the 2021 poll.
His victory could be a lift for Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Robert Fico of Slovakia, whose international locations have refused to supply army help to Ukraine, proceed to import Russian oil and oppose sanctions on Russia.
Fiala has warned in opposition to a victory for Babiš as Russia continues its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Final 12 months, Babiš, alongside along with his good friend Orbán, co-founded a brand new alliance within the European Parliament, “Patriots for Europe,” a major shift from the liberal Renew group he beforehand belonged to.
The Patriots symbolize Babiš’s refusal of EU insurance policies on migration and local weather change and assist for the safety of nationwide sovereignty.
Babiš has denied sharing the pro-Russian stance of many members of the group, however questioned a Czech initiative that makes use of the nation’s long-term international contacts to accumulate artillery shells for Ukraine on markets exterior the EU. He has additionally refused to totally endorse a NATO dedication to considerably improve protection spending.
Babiš has been a divisive determine since he joined Czech nationwide politics in 2013. A member of the Communist Occasion earlier than the anti-Communist 1989 Velvet Revolution within the former Czechoslovakia, he has drawn comparisons to U.S. President Donald Trump and faces fraud costs in a case involving EU subsidies. His scandals haven’t harmed his fashionable assist.
His populist ANO (YES) motion, which he outlined as a “catch-all” celebration, misplaced the parliamentary election in October 2021 after a turbulent time period together with the COVID-19 pandemic. A coalition of 5 events shaped a brand new authorities.
Babiš would favor to rule alone, however polls predict he may win with some 30% vote. That might be about 10% greater than Fiala’s coalition however not sufficient to type a majority authorities.
He has dominated out cooperation with any of the events which were within the authorities after the 2021 election.
His potential companions embody two coalitions which might be overtly pro-Russian and wish to lead the nation out of the EU and NATO. Babiš declared that was not his intention. One other potential ally, a right-wing group calling itself the Motorists that’s backed by former Euro-skeptic President Václav Klaus, has vowed to reject the EU’s setting insurance policies.
