'I wouldn't call him openly anti-Ukrainian': analyst on Czech election winner Babiš

International political scientist Maksym Nesvitailov said this on Espreso TV.

"This poses quite serious risks for us. My friends from the Czech Republic have long been saying that we need to pay attention to Babiš gaining popularity, and that the Czech Republic could, well, ultimately turn in the wrong direction. This is because, despite the general trend of right-wing radicalism and populism having somewhat ceased its frantic growth from the recent past, the war has influenced this to some extent. The war in Ukraine, that is, has slowed this pace a bit. The general sense of danger has grown, along with the understanding that collective security works precisely when it is as collective as possible. But at the same time, we see Babiš now. Indeed, it's not certain they will be able to form a coalition. There will be negotiations, and much will depend on whether Petr Pavel can effectively organize his supporters," he said.

At the same time, Maksym Nesvitailov noted that one should not forget that the presidency is a rather strong institution in the Czech Republic. 

"And despite the fact that Petr Pavel's party did not have an impressive victory in these elections, they still, firstly, have a chance to form a coalition if they negotiate correctly and can agree on cabinet positions with opposition representatives. Then, perhaps, even this conditional victory for Babiš will turn out like what happened in the Netherlands, where it seemed the right-wing populists had already won, but ultimately they did not secure power. It was the same in France. Let's not forget that during the last elections there, it was the left-wing populists who won, although a victory for the right was predicted, but that was a story of 'smart voting,' a slightly different situation. But at the stage of distributing ministerial seats, surprises are possible, so it's worth watching. And even if Babiš manages to form a coalition and they establish their government, despite some of his skeptical statements regarding Ukraine, I still wouldn't call him openly anti-Ukrainian," the international expert believes.

• On October 5, it was announced that the new head of the Czech government will once again be the anti-European politician and pro-Russian billionaire, owner of the Agrofert corporation, Andrej Babiš, who previously held the post from 2017 to 2021.