PRAGUE: Billionaire ex-premier and self-described “Trumpist” Andrej Babis’s party looks set to top the Czech general election next weekend, possibly drawing the Ukraine ally closer to EU mavericks Hungary and Slovakia.
The Czech Republic’s current center-right coalition government, in power in the EU and NATO member since 2021, has supported Kyiv in the face of Russia’s invasion, welcoming war refugees and providing military aid.
But Babis’s return to power could spell rocky relations with both Kyiv and Brussels.
Describing himself as a “peacemonger” calling for a truce in Ukraine, Babis has rejected sending military aid and vowed a “Czechs first” approach.
He is on good terms with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovakia’s Robert Fico, who both foster close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
