Monday, 17 August 2026Europe · Analysis
Independent · Brussels & Berlin
Person
Prime minister, Czech government
Andrej Babis's ANO movement won the 3-4 October parliamentary vote, ending Petr Fiala's centre-right coalition after one term dominated by inflation and energy costs.
The billionaire former prime minister's ANO party topped Saturday's parliamentary vote, putting him in position to form a government that has pledged to halt military aid to Ukraine and review Czech artillery supplies.
Andrej Babiš's ANO party leads polls at 29 percent as Czechs vote Friday and Saturday, but coalition arithmetic and a pending fraud verdict complicate his path back to power.
Andrej Babiš's ANO party leads polls before the October vote, raising the prospect of a Eurosceptic coalition that could align Prague with Budapest and Bratislava on migration, climate policy and aid to Ukraine.
Petr Fiala says the ANO leader's opposition to the Czech ammunition initiative and defence spending effectively helps Moscow, while STEM polling puts Babiš on 33 percent against the governing coalition's 17 percent.
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