Two months after the parliamentary elections, the new Czech government headed by Andrej Babis is a fact. The country is making a rightward turn towards populism. Will the Czech Republic go the way of Orban's Hungary?
The publication is not particularly logical, but it is quite typical of Andrej Babis: on social networks he posted a video at a table with Christmas decorations, wearing a dark T-shirt with the inscription in Ukrainian colors: "No to war".
While lighting three of the four candles on the Christmas wreath, Babis talks about a "wonderful Christmas concert" he attended. He specifies that there one gets "a really wonderful mood" and assures how "shameful it is that Trump, Merz, Macron, Starmer, Zelensky and Putin were not at the concert". If they were children, according to Babis, they would have confirmed it too. Now Christmas is a nightmare, he adds. What exactly Babis wants to say remains a mystery.
A peace agreement will be signed no later than February 24, 2026, which will "guarantee security for everyone - for Ukraine, Europe and the Russians", the Czech Prime Minister adds. Finally, he turns around, and on the back of his T-shirt is written in English Volunteer of Peace.
Andrej Babis uploaded the video on Sunday (14.12.2025) to his social media profiles - after a campaign that lasted several months and as an indication of what he will offer the audience in the future.
Controversial figures in the cabinet
A few days earlier, Czech President Petr Pavel appointed the 71-year-old billionaire as prime minister, and on Monday the ministers in his cabinet were also presented. With this, the Czech Republic has acquired a purely populist far-right coalition for the first time. In addition to Babis's party "Action of Dissatisfied Citizens" (ANO), it also includes the far-right party "Freedom and Direct Democracy" (SPD) and the right-wing movement "Motorists for Themselves" (Motoristé sobě).
Among the 15 ministers in the new government are old acquaintances from ANO, as well as independent experts and some controversial figures. The latter include, for example, the leader of the Motorists' Party Peter Macinka, a vocal Eurosceptic and right-wing populist, as well as the SPD-nominated Minister of Culture Otto Klempir - a musician, songwriter and co-founder of the funk rock band J.A.R. He is also known to have worked for the State Security there during the time of Czechoslovakia.
Will Babis turn his words into deeds?
The inauguration of the new government brings to an end a period of uncertainty in the country that lasted two and a half months after the last parliamentary elections. Or at least that is expected, because in January Babis' government must also be approved by parliament. In addition, an environment minister has not yet been appointed. President Pavel has reservations about the nominee for the post, Filip Turek, because of his racist and neo-Nazi publications in the past. Turek himself is currently in hospital with back problems. His appointment may not take place.
But one thing is certain: the Czech Republic is making a sharp political turn - from a liberal-conservative, pro-European and strongly pro-Ukrainian course to right-wing populism and euroscepticism. The question, however, is how much of Babis' words are just rhetoric and which will turn into action.
"New ways to support Ukraine." But what?
The most important change in foreign policy was announced a few days ago by Babis, as he had promised during the election campaign: the European Union must "find other ways" to support Ukraine, he wrote on Facebook. "Our coffers are empty and we need every penny for our citizens", the supplement read.
No later than Thursday, Babis will have to take a position during the European Council meeting in Brussels, where EU heads of state and government will gather. There, among other things, further support for Ukraine will be discussed.
But so far he has not said anything that would make it clear what "other way" to support Ukraine exists. The same applies to the Czech Republic itself, because under the previous government of Petr Fiala, Prague coordinated an initiative for the global purchase of artillery ammunition for Ukraine, and now Babis wants to stop it or radically change it. How exactly, he does not say.
Like Orbán or not quite?
The situation is similar with most other topics. Together with the Hungarian ruling party "Fidesz" Orban's ANO is part of the far-right group in the European Parliament "Patriots for Europe". But the Czech prime minister's anti-European policy is far from as hard-line as Orban's. Babis is campaigning against the migration pact, the Green Deal and the abandonment of fossil fuels. But whether he will block the EU in these areas is unclear.
The Czech prime minister constantly complains about journalists and wants to reorganize public radio and television. But he is unlikely to achieve the same thing that Orbán managed to impose in Hungary. His position on Ukraine is in favor of Russia, but Babis is not an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Orbán is, for example.
"A man with an unclear past who cannot control himself"
It is still unclear how the new Czech prime minister intends to resolve the conflict of interest as an entrepreneur and owner of the "Agrofert" concern. President Pavel made this a condition for nominating Babis as prime minister, and he promised to permanently transfer his empire to someone else until his children inherit it. But there are serious doubts whether Babis will do so. Many observers in the Czech Republic assume that he will find a way to retain control of "Agrofert".
The only thing that seems certain for now is that with Babis there will be no "Czexit" - that is, the Czech Republic's exit from NATO or the EU. However, many commentators warn against underestimating the risks of the country's new government. In the past, the Czech billionaire was prime minister of two consecutive governments from 2017 to 2021, one of which was a minority government, the other - in coalition with the Social Democrats.
This time, the populists and the far right will rule alone. The Denik Referendum portal predicts "difficult times" for the Czech Republic and warns that Babis wants to "limit democracy". Others rather believe in the Slovak version of a government coalition, which will very quickly fall into serious internal disputes.
Recalling Babis's spy past and the unclear origin of his wealth, the commentator of the newspaper Lidove noviny Miroslav Korecki describes the new Czech prime minister as follows: "A man with an unclear past, known for his tough business practices and balancing on the edge of the law, between truth and lies, a politician with a unique and unpredictable style, a chaotic person who cannot control himself and repeats his mistakes when making personnel decisions. He is not a great visionary, but rather a micromanager and a fan of sociological surveys."