Czech PM Petr Fiala has ruled out the possibility that the parties of the current government could support a minority ANO government after the elections, even in order to prevent ANO from governing with the far-right SPD or left-nationalist Stacilo!, in an interview with Denik.cz yesterday.
Fiala (ODS), who is the election leader for the Spolu coalition, argued that ANO leader Andrej Babis is not at all concerned about improving the lives of Czech people, but only about his personal power and economic interests.
In reaction, Babis rejected the idea that he could govern with the Communists.
Fiala also said he was not thinking at all about whether he would resign if the Spolu coalition (of ODS, the Christian Democrats and TOP 09) performs poorly in parliamentary elections at the end of next week. “I am only thinking about how to win the elections,” he said.
He warned against counting on the elections “somehow turning out well”, and on the Senate or the President acting as democratic safeguards.
“The moment they have a majority in the Chamber of Deputies, it’s lost, it’s gone, and we will quickly wonder at how the country is starting to change in a matter of hours or days,” he said, referring to ANO, the favourite to win the 3-4 October parliamentary elections, as well as its potential partners Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and the Communist-led Stacilo!
Nevertheless, he ruled out supporting a minority ANO government, even as a way to prevent SPD or Stacilo! participation in the government.
“You cannot support someone who is allied at the European level with someone like [Hungarian Prime Minister] Viktor Orban or the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO),” said Fiala, referring to ANO’s membership of the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament. “That is not politics in the interest of the Czech Republic.”
According to Fiala, Babis’s positions are not based on any value system and he cannot resist pressure, meaning Orban would “lead him around like a puppet”.
In an interview with Denik.cz, Babis denied that he could govern with the Communists, who are seeking to return to the lower house this year as part of Stacilo!
“Of course not. We got the Communists out of the lower house, we took away their voters, it’s a completely absurd debate,” said Babis, a former PM whose minority cabinet in 2017-2021 was propped up by the Communists in parliament.
He added that even after four years as Prime Minister, Fiala still fails to understand the workings of the European Union, emphasising ANO’s ties in the European Parliament over the European Council.
“It is important to act at the European Council, the prime minister is out of touch even after so many years,” said Babis, asserting that he would govern as a strongly anti-Russian prime minister.
