The rightward shift of Czech party ANO 2011, led by former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, is increasingly in conflict with its association with the liberal Renew Europe group at the European Parliament and the ALDE party, political sources told EURACTIV.
Despite ANO having only a handful of MEPs, its shift could still ‘move the needle’ of EU policymaking in the European Parliament’s next political mandate.
“[The] ANO delegation in the next EU Parliament will be out of the normal range of liberal parties. It will align more with Orbán rather than with Macron,” an official source from the European Parliament told EURACTIV, referring to the fact that the next ANO members, which are expected to be between five and eight people, will bring anti-Brussels and anti-immigration stances, similar to the Hungarian Fidesz party.
When the current EU legislative mandate started in 2019, ANO counted six members of the delegation and became five in 2020.
Czech EU lawmakers Dita Charanzová and Martina Dlabajovà, who both ran for election in 2014 and 2019 as independents in the ANO list, announced this week that they will no longer run with the Babiš’s party for the next elections, that will be held in early June 2024.
“I am staying in the Parliament and will continue to promote liberal values and defend the pro-European agenda which is needed now more than ever. I am proud of my work in the European Parliament, for example, being part of every major tech law for the last nine years, and I will keep working to the very end,” Charanzová told EURACTIV.
“I have made the personal decision not to run for ANO in the upcoming European Parliament elections. Instead, for the remaining year of my mandate, I will be fully dedicated to completing the ongoing work. I remain a committed liberal, as I have been all my life,” Dlabajovà told EURACTIV Czechia.
Babiš's ANO party cannot count on EU Parliament VP Charanzová in EU elections
Czech influential MEP Dita Charanzová (Renew), currently a vice-president of the European Parliament, will not be running for the European Parliament next year on behalf of ANO, the party of former prime minister Andrej Babiš.
Charanzová was elected to the European …
The 2024 EU election campaign in the Czech Republic is expected to get heated, with Babiš already taking an anti-EU stance in a bid to attract current voters of the Czech far-right party, Freedom and Direct Democracy – currently in the European Parliament ‘Identity and Democracy’ group.
A second source close to the matter told EURACTIV that Dlabajová and Charanzová do not want to participate in such a campaign.
“Depending on some public statements of Babiš, their votes are not always in line with major Renew or even other Czechs,” the official European Parliament source said, speaking about the three other ANO members.
Last January, when the European Parliament voted on a resolution to create an international tribunal to prosecute Russia’s crimes against Ukraine, the three ANO MEPs did not participate in the vote.
In June plenary session, they abstained from two resolutions about the rule of law violation in Hungary and one against sexual harassment.
ANO’s evolution
ANO, which is an acronym for ‘Action of Dissatisfied Citizens’ (akce nespokojených občanů) in Czech, began as a centrist party in 2011, running on a strong anti-corruption narrative.
Babiš governed as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 2017 to 2021, in coalition with the Czech social democrats.
During his mandate, the European Commission deemed that Babiš had a strong conflict of interests while deciding the distribution of EU agricultural subsidies, due to his strong links with the giant agrochemical holding Agrofert.
Commission fines Czechia for ex-PM Babiš’s conflict of interest
The European Commission imposed a €3.3 million fine on the Czech Republic for mistakes in the distribution of EU agricultural subsidies, including the conflict of interest that arose from former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’ links to the giant agrochemical holding …
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Babiš took an increasingly hardline approach to Brussels.
In 2020, he launched a new ANO campaign, wearing a baseball red hat with the motto ‘Strong Czech Republic’, in a nod to Donald Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan.
“I wore a Silné Česko [Strong Czech Republic] hat, inspired by Trump. I have often disagreed with him, mainly with his behaviour, but what I completely agree with is a strong nation-state that is not under the influence of any major power. And also with the fight against illegal immigration,” Babiš wrote on Twitter.
Na dnešní Čau lidi jsem si vzal čepici Silné Česko, ke které mě inspiroval Trump. Často jsem s ním nesouhlasil, hlavně s jeho vystupováním, ale s čím souhlasím naprosto, je silný národní stát, který není pod vlivem žádné velmoci. A taky s bojem proti ilegální migraci. pic.twitter.com/52luWnhprF
— Andrej Babiš (@AndrejBabis) November 8, 2020
Pro/Anti Babiš politics
The political debate in the Czech Republic is extremely polarised around Babiš, with many drawing parallels to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, particularly due to his personal wealth and the control of multiple media organisations.
Czechia’s current government coalition is united mainly on an anti-Babiš ticket. After the 2021 parliamentary elections, five parties from different sides of the political spectrum united to oust Babiš from the government.
ANO still remains the strongest Czech political party, but not strong enough to form a majority in the Czech Parliament, thus it ended up in opposition.
ALDE and Renew concerns
The ALDE Party is conducting a fact-finding mission in the Czech Republic regarding ANO, the results of which will be presented next week.
Renew Europe, which is tipped to lose seats at the European Parliament in the next mandate, is finding itself in a difficult position regarding engagement with ANO.
If ANO remains in the ALDE Party and Renew Europe group, the delegation is expected to continue voting on far-right lines.
If the Czech party left the liberal family, Renew Europe will become an even smaller group.
Aneta Zachova contributed to the reporting.
[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]
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