Washington/London/Warsaw, Oct 16 (CTK) – Foreign media comment on Andrej Babis and his government ANO movement ranking first in the pre-election polls for the upcoming Czech parliamentary election to be held on October 20-21, while some of them label him as a populist.
“Like the U.S. in 2016, voters in the Czech Republic look set to hand power to a populist billionaire who attacks traditional parties and promises to run the state as one of his businesses,” the Bloomberg news agency wrote last week, pointing out that Babis leads the polls “despite being a target of criminal investigation over alleged [subsidy] fraud.”
Bloomberg notes Babis’s popularity is a bit unusual, as parties taking credit based on anti-establishment sentiments typically gain voters in times of economic downturn, and goes on to examine how Babis and ANO became popular four years ago, in the previous general election.
“As finance minister from 2014 until his firing in May 2017, Babis got credit for overseeing an economic rally that helped cut the republic’s budget deficit – a badge of honor in a nation averse to debt and proud of its industrial heritage. One of his main initiatives forced businesses to link cash registers to the tax office via the Internet, significantly improving tax compliance,” Bloomberg wrote.
Bloomberg also analyses potential risks of Babis leading the next Czech cabinet.
“Babis lacks the traditional political philosophy or ideological anchor that defines mainstream parties. He has shown he can reverse a stance if he sees a political advantage. He initially spoke in favor of joining the euro area… but then became a vocal opponent of the currency switch, in line with the Eurosceptic views of most Czechs,” Bloomberg wrote on Babis.
“While he’s critical of the EU, and blames German leader Angela Merkel’s migrant policies for opening her nation’s borders to terrorists, he isn’t seeking a referendum on leaving the bloc. He says sanctions against Russia are ineffective and opposes closer economic integration within EU,” Bloomberg wrote.
The U.S. Foreign Policy magazine asks whether the Czech Republic will become dominated by the Russian political influence on account of Babis’s populism.
“In 2017, the Czech Republic risks becoming the latest in the ever-expanding club of oligarch-riddled regimes that Russia has helped engineer,” Foreign Policy wrote.
The magazine also commented on the close association of Babis and Zeman, which “considerably strengthens the political fortunes of Babis and ANO.”
“Zeman has supported Putin’s intervention in Syria and endorsed Russian actions in Eastern Ukraine. He defined the Ukrainian conflict as a civil war between rebels and the state, effectively denying any Russian aggression or military presence on Ukrainian soil,” Foreign Policy wrote.
“Zeman and Babis share a strong Eurosceptic streak. Despite proclaiming support for remaining in the EU and NATO, Zeman told Czech Radio that he will do everything for [Czechs] to have a referendum and be able to express themselves‚ on membership in both organizations,” Foreign Policy wrote.
The British Daily Telegraph wrote Babis was “pragmatic but unpredictable” and that “his views on integration, immigration and Russia have left many in Europe eyeing his poll lead with nervousness.”
Wojciech Przybylski said on a Polish Radio’s Jedynka programme the prosecution of Babis over an EU subsidy fraud did not influence the polls and that Babis was leading them owing to “a simple anti-system rhetorics,” largely aided through the fault of the other parties.
According to latest pre-election opinion polls, food and media mogul Babis, 63, would win the general election with 20-30 percent of the vote. This is in spite of the fact that the Czech police recently started prosecuting Babis on suspicion of a fraud with European subsidies for the construction of his Stork Nest (Capi hnizdo) farm.
In late 2007, the “Farma Capi hnizdo” company, whose name was ZZN AGRO Pelhrimov, was a part of Agrofert, a giant chemical, agricultural and food-processing holding owned by Babis. Then the firm’s ownership status changed to bearer share ownership in December, the ZZN Pelhrimov being its only shareholder. The police say there was no economic or business reason for this change.
The new status made the new owner hard to identify. Then the company won a 50-million-crown EU subsidy designed for small businesses, for which it could never be eligible as a part of Agrofert. A few years later, it rejoined Agrofert, which Babis transferred to a trust fund in February to meet an amendment to the conflict of interest law.
Aside from this, a court dispute about his alleged collaboration with the former communist secret police StB has been reopened.
