Rob CameronPrague Correspondent, Prague
Reuters
Andrej Babis has taken inspiration from the US Maga movement, not least his party’s red caps saying “Strong Czechia”
Czechs go to the polls on Friday and Saturday facing a deteriorating security situation in Europe and fears of Russian interference.
Populist billionaire Andrej Babis, 71, is tipped to head the next government, replacing the strongly pro-Western, pro-Ukraine coalition.
But he’ll likely need allies on the extremes of Czech politics – and their price will not be cheap.
“We’ll never drag the Czech Republic to the East. I can absolutely rule that out,” Babis told a crowd of mostly elderly supporters, gathered around a stage in the former steel town of Kladno, just outside Prague.
“We weren’t the ones who sat down with Putin – we were the ones who expelled Russian diplomats!” he went on, referring to measures taken in his first term following revelations that Russia’s GRU military intelligence had blown up a Czech ammunition dump in 2014.
At a rally outside Prague Babis assured his supporters he would not align with Russia
A row of grey heads nodded as the former prime minister warmed to his theme.
“And never – I repeat, never – will we consider leaving the European Union. Look at what happened to Great Britain! And they’re a nuclear power. They’ve got gas, oil, a fishing industry. They’re friends with Trump,” he added.
Andrej Babis himself is also friends with US President Donald Trump.
Many supporters were wearing Babis’s red baseball cap emblazoned with the words “Strong Czechia” – heavily inspired by Trump’s Maga movement.
The problem for Babis – and it could soon become a problem for Nato and the EU – is that his ANO party is unlikely to win an overall majority.
Instead, he will likely need to form alliances with smaller parties on the fringes of Czech politics.
Opinion polls and public statements suggest his choice of potent
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