
06/10/2025
POPULIST 'TRUMPIST' BILLIONAIRE TO BECOME CZECH PM
Andrej Babis, the populist billionaire and former prime minister of the Czech Republic, has won the country's parliamentary elections, securing a projected 34.6% to 35% of the vote and earning 80 seats in the 200-member lower house.
The populist leader's ANO party, which campaigned on economic promises and a "Czechs first" approach, emerged as the leading force, though it fell short of an outright majority, necessitating coalition talks with smaller right-wing and eurosceptic parties like the Motorists for Themselves and the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party.
Babis has vowed to end the Czech-led initiative supplying artillery shells to Ukraine, a move that could significantly alter the country's military support for Kyiv, and has rejected calls for a referendum on EU and NATO membership, despite SPD's demands. He argues that the ammunition initiative which has supplied 3.5 million shells to Ukraine since 2022, lacks transparency and benefits private arms dealers, though he said he would discuss the matter with Ukrainian President Zelensky.
A self-proclaimed "Trumpist" and former prime minister (2017–2021), Babis has promised economic reforms, including higher wages, lower taxes, and tax discounts for young families, appealing to voters frustrated by inflation and stagnant incomes. He has also rejected the SPD’s push for a referendum on EU and NATO membership.