Andrej Babiš is a nightmare for European security, warns Czech election rival

Populist Czech election front-runner Andrej Babiš is a European security risk who’s promoting Russian propaganda, Prague’s Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský told POLITICO.

Political clashes are intensifying ahead of a vital election this fall that threatens to radically reorient Czechia’s Western trajectory and see it fall into a Kremlin-sympathizing Central European camp that already includes Hungary and Slovakia.

“Babiš is all the time playing with Russian narratives. Yes, he is uncertain on security. He’s a member of Patriots for Europe that pushed through so many Russian narratives in Europe, in the European Parliament. He is a big friend of Mr. Orbán and he would like to drag us into this kind of politics,” Lipavský said during an interview in Brussels.

Current Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s government has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies in its fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing full-scale invasion — and the Prague coalition harbors growing concerns that Babiš would nuke that support.

“Babiš said he would stop the ammunition initiative … he was unable to say on public TV when he was running for president that he would commit to Article 5 if Poland would be attacked by [an] enemy and he was, like, very fuzzy about that,” he added.

Lipavský, who has been sitting in the government as an independent since his former Pirate Party left the coalition, told POLITICO that he is running as a candidate for the current ruling coalition SPOLU in the election. He will represent the center-right Civic Democracy (ODS) as part of a broad attempt to prevent Babiš returning to power.

But surveys carried out by the Prague-based STEM research institute suggest that Babiš — who was prime minister between 2017 and 2021 — is dominating the polls on 31.5 percent, with Fiala’s SPOLU coalition lagging behind at 20 percent.

The election date has not yet officially been set, but is expected to take place in September or October.

Current Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s government has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies in its fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing full-scale invasion. | Tom Nicholson/Getty Images

“I think in these difficult times, our country needs strong leadership, European leadership, leadership that proves that we are able to support Ukraine, stand [up] to Russia, be, for example, part of the coalition of [the] willing as the current prime minister is able to deliver on that,” added Lipavský.

The coalition has ramped up its attacks on Babiš in recent weeks, in a bid to sabotage the billionaire agriculture tycoon who is also a noted supporter of maverick U.S. President Donald Trump.

Fiala told the Financial Times in March that it is “very clear” that Babiš “helps Vladimir Putin.” Babiš hit back that Fiala was “lying and should be ashamed.”

Babiš, who leads the ANO party, is channeling the message of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico, claiming that diplomacy — not more weapons — is the only real path to ending Russia’s war in Ukraine. Babiš has also said he expects Trump to end the war before his potential Czech government could come to power.

Highlighting the potential for a hostile election campaign, Lipavský first called Babiš a security risk in 2024, prompting the populist figurehead to ask colleagues to dig up dirt on the foreign minister … in a request that went viral after he sent it to the wrong recipient.