Populist Andrej Babiš, who won the Czech parliamentary election, has signed a coalition deal with fringe right-wing parties, moving closer to regaining power, Reuters reports.
Babiš won the election on a promise to oppose the European Union’s migration and climate policy demands, and his return to power with fringe parties will strengthen the populist and anti-immigration camp in the EU. It could also weaken support for Ukraine. The 71-year-old Babiš was prime minister from 2017 to 2021. Now he has joined forces with the so-called Biker Party, which is a climate change skeptic, and the SPD, which opposes NATO and the EU. Babiš has said he plans to form a government by mid-December.
If confirmed, his party-led cabinet would replace the previous center-right government, which focused on reducing the budget deficit and supporting Ukraine. Babis has promised to end financial aid to Ukraine and said he would end the Czech-led ammunition program. He has become more lenient after Czech President Petr Pavel called for the program to continue.
The coalition’s draft policy does not specify a specific spending target.
The outgoing government had set a goal of moving towards NATO’s new target of spending 3.5% of GDP on defense, with another 1.5% of GDP earmarked for infrastructure improvements.
Babis has taken a belligerent stance against the EU, vowing to reject the bloc’s carbon emissions reduction plan, which could lead to legal disputes with the EU. The coalition’s policy brief states that the EU’s plan is unsustainable and that the goal of ending the sale of internal combustion engine cars by 2035 is unacceptable. The politician also stressed on November 3 that he would question his membership in both the bloc and NATO.
During the populist politician’s previous term, the European Commission ruled that there was a conflict of interest because Babiš owns large agricultural and chemical companies. Babiš has good relations with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and is a strong supporter of the so-called Visegrad Group (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary). However, the group is divided over Russia’s aggression in Ukraine – Poland supports Kiev, while Hungary and Slovakia seek to maintain good relations with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
The outgoing government managed to reduce the budget deficit to 2% during its term. Currently, the three parties that have signed a coalition agreement have pledged to keep the budget deficit below 3% of GDP. The coalition has pledged not to switch to the euro and has promised to include the local currency in the constitution, although the Czech Republic has pledged to adopt the euro.
Read also: Czech President picks Babiš to form a government
The post Babiš signs coalition deal with far-right in Czech Republic appeared first on Baltic News Network.
