Prague (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – In a ceremony broadcast live on television on Tuesday, Czech President Petr Pavel named Andrej Babis, the billionaire head of the populist ANO party, prime minister.
Following the appointment of his entire cabinet, which is anticipated later this month, Babis, whose ANO won a parliamentary election on October 3–4, will succeed a centre-right government, Reuters reported.
At a ceremony this morning, Babis was officially named the 14th prime minister of the Czech Republic, more than two months after the parliamentary election in early October and a protracted standoff with President Petr Pavel over his possible conflict of interest.
How will Babis shape a cabinet with far-right partners?
After four years in opposition, where he joined the Patriots for Europe in the European Parliament and moved from the liberal centre to European fringe right forces, Babis is back in power.
As reported by European media, he is a far-right, pro-Russian, anti-EU SPD party, and the Motorists for Themselves party, whose primary goal is to oppose EU climate policies, will be part of his cabinet.
What is Babis’s stance on sending ammunition to Ukraine?
Babis has stated that the new government may terminate the Czech-run ammunition initiative, which purchases large-calibre ammunition for Ukraine from all over the world, and he has promised to remove military aid to Ukraine from the national budget.
Babis has stated that the plan was opaque and overpriced, but he hasn’t made a firm decision regarding the project’s future, despite the president’s strong support.
After Babis announced last week that he would transfer his primary asset, Agrofert, a conglomerate of more than 200 companies in the food, chemical, and agricultural industries, to a trust structure in order to address a conflict of interest he would have while in office.
How do past accusations against Babis influence public trust?
According to France 24, Babis has faced accusations of conflicts of interest throughout his political career due to his business and political involvement, which sparked widespread demonstrations during his previous term.
On the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution of 1989, which overthrew communism in the former Czechoslovakia, thousands of people demonstrated against Babis last month.
As the owner of the expansive food and chemical holding company Agrofert and other businesses, he amassed a fortune.
Babis is scheduled to go on trial for fraud involving two million euros ($2.3 million). He is charged with stealing a farm from Agrofert in order to qualify it for a small business subsidy from the EU in 2007. In the 1980s, Babis faced accusations that he was a communist secret police agent.
