The populist ANO party (Patriots for Europe), led by former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, would dominate parliamentary elections scheduled for autumn 2025 with 35.5% of the vote, the latest polling data from Kantar CZ for the Czech Television reads.
This puts the party well ahead of the current ruling Civic Democratic Party (ECR), led by conservative Prime Minister Petr Fiala, which is expected to win 14.5%. The centre-right STAN party (EPP) saw its support rise significantly to 13%, followed by the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy party (ESN) at 6.5%.
The Pirate Party (Greens/EFA), which recently left the government, would barely pass the 5% threshold needed to enter the Czech parliament.
Speaking to CNN Prima NEWS on Sunday, Babiš stressed the importance of a strong mandate in the next elections.
“We need to get 2.4 million votes (…) That would mean 44% of the vote,” he stated. “If we get that, no one can bypass us, and we can govern with some form of tolerance,” he said.
When discussing possible coalitions, Babiš was cautious.
Not only did he dismiss speculation about a partnership with smaller groups such as the Communist Party (non-attached) or the Motorists’ Party (Patriots), saying that such discussions were premature, but he also sidestepped questions about cooperation with Freedom and Direct Democracy.
Polling data also showed a sharp decline for the Pirate Party, which lost four percentage points since June as many of its former voters switched to STAN and the Civic Democrats.
Significant factors for the drop include the Pirates’ departure from government and dissatisfaction with their policies, such as the failure to implement digital reforms, Kantar analysts said.
Meanwhile, KDU-ČSL, TOP 09 (both EPP), which are part of the ruling coalition, remain below the 5% threshold, making them unlikely to enter parliament unless they form a coalition with the Civic Democratic Party, as they did in 2021.
(Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz)
Source: euractiv.com
