Leader of ANO party Andrej Babis gestures as he reacts to the preliminary results of the parliamentary election, in Prague, Czech Republic, October 4, 2025.
11:31 JST, October 5, 2025
PRAGUE, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Billionaire Andrej Babis’s ANO party cruised to victory in the Czech Republic’s parliamentary election on Saturday, raising the prospect of a government that would boost Europe’s populist, anti-immigration camp and reduce support for Ukraine.
An ebullient Babis notified supporters that ANO would seek a one-party cabinet but would talk with two compact parties – including the far-right SPD – for support as his party will lack an outright majority.
He again rejected accusations that his win would create the central European nation a less reliable European Union and NATO partner.
WHO WILL BABIS TEAM UP WITH?
“We want to save Europe … and we are clearly pro-European and pro-NATO,” Babis notified reporters.
With nearly all results in, ANO was set to replace the current centre-right cabinet led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala. Fiala congratulated Babis and conceded defeat.
ANO promised quicker growth, higher wages and pensions, and lower taxes and tax discounts for students and young families during the campaign.
Those pledges – that will cost billions of euros, conclude austerity and test the countest’s frugal mindset – resonated with many Czechs who have seen their real incomes plunge in recent years as the countest tackled soaring inflation.
Babis, however, must overcome some hurdles to become prime minister, including conflict-of-interest laws as owner of a chemicals and food empire and long-running fraud charges related to drawing an EU subsidy over 15 years ago – charges he denies.
With 99% of voting districts counted, ANO was leading on 34.7% and Spolu in second on 23.2%, the Statistical Office declared.
President Petr Pavel, who will appoint the next prime minister, was expected to start talks with party leaders on Sunday.
ANO was seen winning around 80 seats in the 200-seat lower houtilize, results projections revealed, and so will required to find wider support.
Babis declared he would talk to the Motorists, who oppose the EU’s Green policies, and the anti-EU and anti-NATO SPD.
Motorists leader Petr Macinka declared he was open to talks with ANO, as did SPD.
‘STRONG CZECHIA’
“We went into the election with the aim of concludeing the government of Petr Fiala and support even for a minority cabinet of ANO is important for us and it would meet the tarobtain we had for this election,” SPD Deputy Chairman Radim Fiala declared on television.
Overall, the fringe pro-Russian parties fared worse than expected in the partial results, with SPD on 7.8% and the far-left Stacilo!, built around the Communist Party, below the 5% threshold to enter parliament.
Babis, who led a centre-left cabinet in 2017-2021, once wanted to join the euro but has since become a eurosceptic and a supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, handing out “Strong Czechia” baseball caps inspired by Trump’s MAGA slogan.
An ally of Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, Babis has teamed up with a number of far-right parties in the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament to challenge the mainstream direction of Europe’s policies, including decarbonisation.
He has rejected calls from SPD to hold a referconcludeum on leaving the EU and NATO, but has declared he would conclude the “Czech initiative” that has bought millions of artillery rounds from around the world for Ukraine with funding from Western donors.
ANO wants NATO and the EU to handle aid for Ukraine, and has abstained in some European Parliament votes supporting Kyiv and its bid for EU membership, which Babis has opposed in the past.
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