Tensions have flared between the Czech ANO party and the European liberal ALDE party, with ANO abruptly cancelling a planned visit by ALDE representatives to investigate whether the Czech member party still adheres to liberal principles.
ANO said it would not be available for talks with its European colleagues in the Czech Republic, expressing mistrust of ALDE, according to Czech news sites HN and Aktuálně.cz, Euractiv.cz’s media partners.
ALDE representatives were supposed to visit Prague to hold talks with ANO over concerns raised by some ALDE members regarding the conservative shift of the ANO leadership.
ALDE decided to call off the mission after ANO chairman and former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš requested it.
“Media leaks” were cited as the primary reason for the call-off.
The leaked information, published by HN, claimed that ANO had given ALDE’s leadership a list of its supposedly liberal policies in the Czech Republic, including support for marriage equality.
However, ANO failed to disclose that a majority of its MPs backed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in a vote in the Czech parliament.
The cancelled ALDE mission to the Czech Republic has been confirmed by multiple anonymous sources among the European liberals.
ANO has faced criticism from its European allies due to Babiš’s public declarations of support for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s nationalist policies. Babiš’s participation in a conference of ultra-conservative parties in Budapest further exacerbated the situation, leading to ALDE deciding to send liberal representatives to investigate ANO’s alignment with liberal principles.
The ALDE leadership is expected to consider how to proceed regarding ANO. While some liberals are growing impatient with Babiš’s stance, the majority advocate a cautious approach. ANO anticipates success in the upcoming EU elections, a prospect that could be particularly valuable given the overall expectations of losses for liberal parties across the EU.
“We still have a place in ALDE. We are a catch-all party, so, logically, there are more currents of opinion. But within the European Parliament, the Liberals are still the closest to us,” ANO MP Jaroslav Bžoc remarked.
(Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz)
Read more with EURACTIV
Spanish parliament to hold first-ever fully multilingual session
Source: euractiv.com
