EditCzech President appoints populist billionaire Andrej Babiš as PM amid eurosceptic surge
As Babiš assembles his team, all eyes are on whether his government will accelerate the EU's populist drift in a Trump-dominated Western world
Czech President Petr Pavel swore in billionaire populist Andrej Babiš as the country’s new prime minister on Tuesday, marking a return to power for the controversial tycoon after his ANO party’s victory in the 3-4 October parliamentary election.
The appointment, broadcast live on national television at Prague Castle, paves the way for Babiš to replace the outgoing centre-right coalition led by Petr Fiala. Babiš, 71, will oversee the formation of his full cabinet, expected to be sworn in next week following a coalition agreement signed on 3 November with two fringe right-wing parties.
This marks Babiš’s third stint in the top job, having previously served from 2017 to 2021 before losing a confidence vote amid scandals.
Born in Bratislava in what was then communist Czechoslovakia, Babiš grew up in a privileged family tied to the regime’s elite – his father was a senior trade official, affording the young Andrej elite schooling in Geneva and Paris, rarities for ordinary citizens behind the Iron Curtain.
After the 1989 Velvet Revolution, he built a fortune through Petrimex, a state-owned chemicals trader, which he privatized into the sprawling Agrofert conglomerate – a behemoth spanning agriculture, chemicals, media, and food with over 200 companies and annual revenues exceeding €15 billion.
Babiš founded the centrist ANO (“Action of Dissatisfied Citizens”) party in 2011 as an anti-corruption platform, surging to power on promises of efficient governance and anti-elite rhetoric. Yet his tenure has been dogged by controversies: allegations of collaborating with the communist secret police (StB) as an agent codenamed “Bureš” in the 1980s, which he denies; a 2019 European Commission probe into €400 million in EU subsidies funneled to Agrofert-linked farms; and leaked Pandora Papers revealing his secret ownership of a $22 million French Riviera villa through offshore entities.
Despite these, Babiš portrays himself as a “Czech Trump” – a self-made outsider battling a corrupt establishment – resonating with voters weary of inflation, migration, and green regulations.
His new coalition amplifies this populist tilt. ANO will partner with the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party – anti-EU, pro-Russian, and led by Tomio Okamura, who has called for referendums on exiting the bloc and NATO – and the Motorists for Themselves (Přejezd), focused on scrapping EU climate policies like the Green Deal.
During the campaign, Babiš shifted ANO from its pro-EU roots toward the European Parliament’s Patriots for Europe group, co-founded with Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and France’s Marine Le Pen, blending nationalism with Euroscepticism.
On Ukraine, Babiš has pledged to slash military aid from the national budget and scrutinize the Czech-led “ammunition initiative” – a €1.7 billion global procurement scheme delivering shells to Kyiv, which he deems “untransparent and overpriced.”
While stopping short of outright termination – mindful of pro-Ukraine President Pavel’s backing – the stance signals fatigue with Europe’s war spending, echoing sentiments in Budapest and Bratislava. The coalition deal omits firm defence commitments, raising alarms in Brussels about Prague’s NATO reliability.
To clear a constitutional hurdle, Babiš announced last week he would transfer Agrofert’s control to a blind trust, resolving long-standing conflict-of-interest concerns that nearly derailed his appointment.
Pavel, a former NATO general, had insisted on transparency, highlighting tensions in the semi-presidential system.
Babiš’s return injects fresh volatility into an EU already grappling with fragmentation. As the bloc’s most industrialized eastern member- its auto sector alone accounts for 10% of GDP – Czechia’s eurosceptic pivot strengthens the “Visegrád axis” (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia), potentially stalling decisions on Ukraine sanctions, migration pacts, and the €1 trillion Green Deal.
With ANO’s win, populists now hold sway in four of Europe’s top 10 economies, complicating Ursula von der Leyen’s efforts to maintain cohesion amid Russia’s war and U.S. uncertainties.
This comes at a pivotal moment for transatlantic ties, rewritten by the recently published U.S. National Security Strategy, largely seen as hostile to liberal Europe and the EU as a union.
Trump’s National Security Strategy declares war on ‘dying’ Europe
Yet Babiš, often dubbed Europe’s “Trump whisperer” for his admiration of the U.S. president’s deal-making, may see opportunity in alignment. His government could prioritize bilateral U.S. pacts on energy and trade over multilateral EU frameworks, potentially softening tariff blows through concessions like reduced green regulations.
Critics warn this “Trump-friendly” stance risks isolating Czechia from Brussels, emboldening Orbán-style vetoes on Ukraine support and eroding plans to build an European defence.
Pro-EU voices, including Pavel, urge caution, but with ANO’s 30% election haul reflecting broader “Ukraine fatigue” and economic angst, Babiš’s coalition may tip the scales toward a more transactional Europe, mirroring Washington’s pivot.
With Reuters, edited by g.g.
Caption: Leader of the ANO (Yes) movement and coalition candidate for Prime Minister Andrej Babis leaves following a meeting with the Czech president at the Prague Castle, in Prague, Czech Republic, 26 November 2025. EPA/MARTIN DIVISEK
Updated: December 9, 2025 - 11:42
