The populist ANO party, led by former Prime Minister and businessman Andrej Babiš, achieved a clear victory in the Czech parliamentary elections, but failed to reach an absolute majority. According to official data from the Czech Statistical Office, his party accumulated 34.51% of the votes, equivalent to 80 seats out of the 200 in the Chamber of Deputies.
The acting Prime Minister, Petr Fiala, acknowledged the defeat of the governing coalition SPOLU and publicly congratulated his political opponent:
“I congratulate Andrej Babiš on his victory, as well as all the other parties for their results,” Fiala declared on network X. He emphasized that the current government had to manage major crises in recent years and adopted “unpopular but necessary measures”.
In addition to ANO, five other parties will enter parliament:
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SPOLU Coalition – 23.36% (52 seats)
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STAN Movement – 11.23% (22 seats)
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Czech Pirates – 8.97% (18 seats)
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Far-right SPD Party – 7.78% (15 seats)
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Newcomer “Motorists” – 6.77% (13 seats)
Andrej Babiš will need partners to form a government majority, but possible alliances are limited due to the reluctance of pro-European parties towards his populist orientation and criticisms regarding conflicts of interest.
The victory of the populist ANO party in the Czech parliamentary elections was accompanied by a controversial statement from the party leader, Andrej Babiš, who publicly expressed reservations about Ukraine’s European prospects. In front of Ukrainian journalists, Babiš stated:
“But you are not ready for the EU. We must first end the war and, of course, we can cooperate with Ukraine, but you are not ready for the EU.”
The statement contradicts the official line of the European Union, which supports Ukraine’s European path and opened accession negotiations in June 2024. Babiš’s position has already sparked criticism from Czech and Ukrainian political commentators, being perceived as a signal of reorientation of Czech foreign policy in case ANO manages to form the government.
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