French President Emmanuel Macron inviting former Czech prime minister and current presidential candidate Andrej Babiš, who is also under investigation in France for money laundering, is causing turmoil in Czechia just three days before the presidential elections.
Babiš is among the favourites of the Czech presidential election, the first round of which is held on Friday and Saturday (13-14 January). Babiš visited his Renew Europe ally, Macron, in the hottest phase of the election campaign, at Elysee Palace on Tuesday.
“It is, of course, common for politically related partners to support each other before elections. However, any such support should have its political-cultural boundaries,” former liberal vice-president of the European Parliament Pavel Telička told EURACTIV.cz.
According to him, Macron’s decision to receive Babiš as a guest just a few days before the Czech presidential elections is “incorrect”.
“Macron is receiving a populist candidate with whom he does not share many views and values and who is suspected of unfair economic practices in his country,” Telička added.
Babiš’s ANO party is part of European liberals — represented by Renew Europe in the European Parliament — but Babiš himself has always been critical of the EU. He is also a close ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Moreover, Babiš is under investigation in France for tax evasion and money laundering in connection with the purchase of residences in the country’s south. The French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office launched a preliminary investigation into Babiš over money laundering allegations in February 2022 after information about his properties in France leaked in the so-called Pandora Papers the year before.
The office of the French president said that Tuesday’s meeting of Macron and Babiš should not be considered support of Babiš in upcoming elections.
Yet, Babiš immediately posted pictures with Macron across social media after the meeting.
“I am glad that Europe’s most important politician found time for me and that we have such a friendly relationship,” Babiš tweeted after the meeting.
Telička, a former member of Babiš’s party ANO, believes that by receiving Babiš ahead of the presidential elections, Macron has “dragged himself into the Czech pre-election public space, which is not in the French interest”.
“This has given room for all sorts of speculation as to what might be behind this meeting,” Telička said.
(Aneta Zachová | EURACTIV.cz)
Source: euractiv.com
