Czech Prime Minister loses legislative elections

The party of Andrej Babis, in power for four years, has arrived second of the vote and should be unable to form a coalition to the success of the opposition.

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He tried everything for the whole face to the scandals by campaigning against “Brussels” with the help of his “friend”, the Hungarian Nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban. But that did not succeed. In question in the “Pandora Papers” and for its multiple conflicts of interest, the Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, 67, lost the parliamentary elections organized on Friday 8 and Saturday, October 9 in this Central European country.

According to quasi-definitive results, the populist and “antisystem” ano (for “action of dissatisfied citizens”), of the one who is also the fifth fortune of the country, has arrived second to a few thousand votes near with 27, 35% of the votes and should be unable to form a coalition in the success of the opposition. The two coalitions of five so-called “democratic” parties, after campaigning for the rule of law and to reconcile the country with the European Union (EU), have indeed dropped a majority of at least 108 seats on the 200 of the Chamber of Deputies.

Except as a doubtful post-election arrangement, the leader of the right-line coalition “Together”, Petr Fiala, just in mind with 27.5% of the votes, should therefore become prime minister by combining with the coalition of Center left formed by the hackers and the party of the mayors and independent, third arrival with 15.45% of the votes. The two coalitions have always said that their main goal was to eject Mr. Babis of power, after four years marked in particular by the procedures launched by the European Commission against the “conflicts of interest” of the billionaire because its companies affect millions. euros of European funds.

The opposite of the “babis style”

Returned to politics in 2011, Prime Minister since 2017, Mr. Babis also suffers from the collapse of his previous coalition allies. For the first time since 1989, neither the Social Democrats nor the Communists do not cross the 5% mark that allows to sit in Parliament. In hindsight compared to 2017, the anti-EU far-right party, “freedom and direct democracy” obtains 9.66% of the votes. It’s a lot too little to support Mr. Babis, especially as he requires a referendum on “Czexit”, the release of the Czech Republic of the EU.

In theory, the ball is now in the hand of Eurosceptic President and Prorusse Milos Zeman, in a staggering health. The latter has openly supported Mr. Babis during the campaign. It could still try to give a mandate to billionaire to try to form a government, claiming that his party has arrived at the top of the ballot while Mr. Fiala is at the head of a coalition. But unless it happens to return some opposition members, Mr. Babis, however, should quickly find that he is unable to form a government.

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/Media reports.