Billionaire populist Andrej Babis’ celebration wins parliamentary election

[ad_1] Rob Cameron Prague Correspondent

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/69ed/live/a4881e70-a138-11f0-92db-77261a15b9d2.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/69ed/live/a4881e70-a138-11f0-92db-77261a15b9d2.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/69ed/live/a4881e70-a138-11f0-92db-77261a15b9d2.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/69ed/live/a4881e70-a138-11f0-92db-77261a15b9d2.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/69ed/live/a4881e70-a138-11f0-92db-77261a15b9d2.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/69ed/live/a4881e70-a138-11f0-92db-77261a15b9d2.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/69ed/live/a4881e70-a138-11f0-92db-77261a15b9d2.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/69ed/live/a4881e70-a138-11f0-92db-77261a15b9d2.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="Reuters Andrej Babis dressed in a dark suit with his hands in the air in celebration, surrounded by journalists taking photos of him." class="sc-5340b511-0 bGQwLJ"/> Reuters Billionaire businessman Andrej Babis has gained parliamentary elections within the Czech Republic, though his populist ANO celebration fell in need of an general majority.

ANO acquired just below 35% of the vote, incomes them 80 seats within the 200-seat decrease home – up from 72 seats 4 years in the past, in line with preliminary outcomes.

Babis – who served as prime minister from 2017 to 2021 – is anticipated to be invited to steer talks on forming a brand new coalition.

"This can be a historic success," Andrej Babis introduced to cheering supporters on the ANO headquarters within the suburbs of Prague.

He'd entered the constructing holding aloft a Bluetooth speaker blasting a remix of the 1981 hit 'Sarà perché ti amo' by the Italian pop trio Ricchi e Poveri.

The identical music resounded throughout the stage as he accepted the applause. Some colleagues – together with the previous finance minister Alena Schillerova – danced alongside to the beat.

"It is the head of my political profession!" he mentioned, including that he and his group would now work to make the Czech Republic "the perfect place to reside within the European Union".

However whereas this election has thrown up no nice surprises – few had any doubt he would emerge in first place - there are nonetheless loads of questions.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/2bb3/live/8e5bcbe0-a158-11f0-b532-53fba03d9a6f.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/2bb3/live/8e5bcbe0-a158-11f0-b532-53fba03d9a6f.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/2bb3/live/8e5bcbe0-a158-11f0-b532-53fba03d9a6f.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/2bb3/live/8e5bcbe0-a158-11f0-b532-53fba03d9a6f.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/2bb3/live/8e5bcbe0-a158-11f0-b532-53fba03d9a6f.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/2bb3/live/8e5bcbe0-a158-11f0-b532-53fba03d9a6f.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/2bb3/live/8e5bcbe0-a158-11f0-b532-53fba03d9a6f.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/2bb3/live/8e5bcbe0-a158-11f0-b532-53fba03d9a6f.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Anadolu via Getty Images Andrej Babis holds a press conference at ANO headquarters on 4 October 2025, wearing a blue suit and red tie. He is surrounded by people including a man in a suit and a woman in a suit" class="sc-5340b511-0 bGQwLJ"/> Anadolu through Getty Photos Babis has already begun talks with the 2 small right-wing eurosceptic events that managed to go the 5% threshold: the anti-Inexperienced Deal Motorists for Themselves, and the anti-immigrant Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) celebration, led by the Czech-Japanese entrepreneur Tomio Okamura.

Parliamentary maths means he'll want an alliance with each to kind a authorities that enjoys a majority in parliament - not one of the different events are prone to work with him.

After giving his acceptance speech he mentioned he wished ANO to control alone, fairly than create a proper coalition.

ANO could have probably the most in frequent with the Motorists. The 2 already sit in the identical European Parliament group – the "pro-sovereignty" Patriots for Europe, which Babis based alongside Hungary's Viktor Orban and Austria's Herbert Kickl final 12 months.

ANO shares the Motorists' misgivings concerning the EU's emissions targets, and vows to change or reject them outright.

Each events are firmly in opposition to Czech households carrying a higher monetary burden for cleaner vitality, and each oppose the EU's ban on the sale of recent petrol and diesel vehicles after 2035.

Relations with the SPD could possibly be extra fraught.

For a begin, SPD fought this election in a proper alliance with quite a few fringe events on the far-right, which means they should yield a few of their seats to them. Okamura could not have full management of the MPs in his caucus – all the time a recipe for catastrophe in coalition politics.

Babis has additionally categorically dominated out permitting a referendum on both EU or NATO membership – a key coverage precedence for the SPD.

The ANO chief might need leaned closely into anti-Ukrainian rhetoric within the remaining days of the marketing campaign, lambasting the centre-right authorities for giving "Czech moms nothing, and Ukrainians all the things".

However Okamura's name for Ukrainian refugees to be deported en masse will possible fall on deaf ears.

Czech army assist for Ukraine's struggle effort nevertheless is prone to change considerably beneath a Babis administration.

He has already vowed to scrap the profitable Czech ammunition initiative – which has delivered 3.5 million shells to Ukraine since 2022.

Babis claims it lacks transparency, however Czech authorities officers who created the scheme say it really works exactly as a result of it's not clear.

Below the initiative, Czech arms sellers use their worldwide contacts to obtain shells for Ukraine on the worldwide market, with the majority of the cash coming from EU and NATO companions. A number of the producers are in international locations which have relationships with Russia however because the deal is organized with Czech sellers their involvement stays personal.

The ANO chief desires it moved beneath the umbrella of NATO as an alternative, and once more on Saturday accused Czech arms sellers of creating huge earnings from the scheme.

Nevertheless, he mentioned he would don't have any downside negotiating the matter with President Zelensky.

Babis additionally laughed off claims Western allies had been nervous the Czech Republic would not be a dependable accomplice within the EU and NATO beneath his administration, and that was why he now gave the impression to be distancing himself from extremist events.

"Your downside is you simply copy lies from Czech journalists," he replied, answering a reporter from the New York Occasions in English.

"I spoke with Trump 5 instances! I used to be within the Pentagon. I used to be within the FBI. I talked to the pinnacle of the CIA," Babis mentioned, talking of his first time period, which overlapped with President Trump's first time period in workplace.