Populist billionaire Andrej Babis wins Czech parliamentary election

"Populist billionaire Andrej Babis has won the Czech parliamentary election in a political comeback that puts the country on a course away from supporting Ukraine and towards Hungary and Slovakia, which have taken a pro-Russian path. With the votes from almost 98% of polling stations counted by the statistics office, Babis's ANO (YES) movement captured 35% of the vote followed by the pro-western coalition of the prime minister, Petr Fiala, with 23.0%. The coalition defeated Babis in the 2021 election."

"A group of mayors known as STAN, also a member of Fiala's government, had 11.1% of the vote, with another ally of Fiala, the Pirates party, reaching 8.7%. The anti-migrant force, the Freedom and Direct Democracy party, got 7.9% while a rightwing group calling itself the Motorists received 6.8%. The two are potential partners for Babis if he wants to have a majority government."

"The Czech Republic has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. The country has donated arms including heavy weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces and is behind an initiative that acquires artillery shells Ukraine badly needs from countries outside the EU. Babis has questioned such support and also refused to fully endorse a Nato commitment to significantly increase defence spending."

Andrej Babis's ANO movement won the Czech parliamentary election with 35% of the vote, ahead of Prime Minister Petr Fiala's pro-western coalition at 23.0%. The two-day vote filled 200 lower-house seats. STAN received 11.1% and the Pirates 8.7%, while Freedom and Direct Democracy secured 7.9% and the Motorists 6.8%; the latter two could be Babis's coalition partners. Babis's victory signals a potential pivot away from robust Czech support for Ukraine toward alignment with Hungary and Slovakia. The Czech Republic previously donated heavy weapons and organized shell procurement, while Babis has questioned such aid and resisted higher NATO spending commitments.

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