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{"id":8393,"date":"2021-12-08T09:00:44","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T09:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lossi36.com\/?p=8393"},"modified":"2023-03-15T10:19:04","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T10:19:04","slug":"will-babis-take-a-dramatic-bow-out-of-czech-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lossi36.com\/2021\/12\/08\/will-babis-take-a-dramatic-bow-out-of-czech-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Babi\u0161 take a dramatic bow out of Czech politics?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"Babi\u0161, now on his own, is in a position of exiting the scene as dramatically as he came in. The final shape of the new Czech government has not yet emerged, but the defeat of Babi\u0161\u2019 government is already offering insights into the complicated path ahead for Czechia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Only days before the elections, the Czech premier made an unscheduled appearance in the Pandora Papers. Local media gave attention in particular to the purchase of a <\/span>chateau<\/span><\/i> in France, along with questions about the financial practices of Mr Babi\u0161. His past has not made accusations difficult; the current prime minister has been the star of several scandals throughout his time in public life. On a global scale, however, and seeing the sheer size of the Pandora leaks, Mr Babi\u0161\u2019 financial practices seem rather mundane compared to his billionaire peers. However, the ease with which capital moves across borders might have become a special point of interest for voters.<\/span><\/p>\n In this case, the latest expose on the actions of the global elite might have tipped the scales in the election \u2013 this time against the rich and powerful. While the Czech premier\u2019s brand of populism retained the largest share of support among voters of any single party, two coalitions pulled the carpet from under Mr Babi\u0161, whose race to continue his premiership that started in 2017 is ending in a fittingly dramatic fashion.<\/span><\/p>\n Together in Czech (SPOLU), a centre-right coalition consisting of the Civic Democrats (ODS), Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and the pro-EU TOP 09 party narrowly won the election. Theirs is a coalition of mainstream parties that ran on an explicitly anti-Babi\u0161 campaign, and whose success can be attributed to a share of voters whose primary concern was to reject the billionaire. The Pandora Papers were unlikely to move voters of SPOLU, but even so, it would be easy to see the leaks mobilizing undecided voters, who would have been unsure of who to vote for, or whether to do so at all. In this sense, for SPOLU, the leaks were impeccably timed. An <\/span>earlier financial scandal<\/b><\/a> – in which Mr Babi\u0161 is accused of illegally siphoning EU funds to one of his firms – surrounding Mr Babi\u0161 hardly would mobilize but the most determined voter with an uncharacteristically long memory. While the premier denies all wrongdoing, the Pandora Papers likely only strengthened the existing polarization that surrounds his character.<\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps the most interesting coalition, and certainly the one with the catchiest (unofficial) name, of the elections was the centre-left coalition of the Pirates and the Mayors, Pir\u00e1tiStan. Their share of votes placed them in third place behind Babi\u0161\u2019s ANO party and SPOLU. The Mayors and Independents have been a mainstay in Czech national politics, mostly focusing on local and regional elections and issues, while forming coalitions (often with TOP 09 of SPOLU) in national elections. This time, their coalition partner became the Pirate Party, which continued to ride on the success of the previous legislative elections during which the Pirates surprised many. The Czech Pirates, like other surviving Pirate parties in Europe, have attempted to <\/span>transform<\/b><\/a> themselves into a more mainstream party, while still maintaining a \u2018new generation\u2019 glow. The Pirates in particular has worked hard to become a major political power in the country and branch out from their origins as the recipient of votes from an IT-savvy free marketeer section of urban youth.<\/span><\/p>\n Both coalitions have rejected the idea of forming a government with Mr Babi\u0161, and his previous government partners, the CSSD and KS\u010cM, fell out of the parliament completely as a result of the elections. This means that as both SPOLU and Pir\u00e1tiStan keep their promise, Babi\u0161 would have found himself facing the prospect of forming a minority government. However, the coalitions have seemed to hold, and ANO is fast becoming the major opposition party in the parliament. Populist power is waning in Czechia.<\/span><\/p>\n The Czech president, Milo\u0161 Zeman, inadvertently sprinkled some salt into the premier\u2019s wounds with his failing health. Mr Zeman was admitted to an intensive care unit in Prague, <\/span>reportedly<\/b><\/a> after discussing the election results with Mr Babi\u0161. Before the elections, Mr Zeman has played kingmaker for Mr Babi\u0161, promising to appoint the leader of the single party with the most votes (as opposed to a coalition) to begin forming a government. However, the president\u2019s failing health threw a wrench into the plans of the Czech incumbent. Political custom is for the president to appoint the person who will lead negotiations to form a new government \u2013 laying in a hospital bed, Mr Zeman was delayed in doing so.<\/span><\/p>\n The president\u2019s inability to appoint a new prime minister to begin forming a government over a period of about two weeks presented an unexpected obstacle for Mr Babi\u0161. The period directly after the elections was characterized by uncertainty and speculation, which could have triggered a constitutional crisis between the powers of the president and the parliament. In a hospital bed, Zeman existed in a kind of grey space, unable to fulfil his obligations. Meanwhile, at least one of the president\u2019s aides <\/span>drew public scrutiny<\/b><\/a> over his silence on the president\u2019s health, prolonging the uncertainty and essentially buying time for both Zeman and Babi\u0161 to try to find a way out of the premiers\u2019 political downfall.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A political system dependent on norms, quorum and obscure rules strains under the stress of indecisiveness. If Mr Zeman allowed his prot\u00e9g\u00e9, Mr Babi\u0161, to start forming a government, the electoral winners could have brought the president\u2019s capability into question or made noise over his determination to bend rules in his favour. In the end, and only after <\/span>Babi\u0161 failed<\/b><\/a> to break the opposing coalitions and start negotiations with other parties, Petr Fiala of the Civil Democrats was appointed the next prime minister, allowing him to start the negotiations for a new governing coalition.<\/span><\/p>\nBabi\u0161 gets an unwanted October surprise\u00a0<\/b><\/h5>\n
New coalitions emerge as ailing partners fade<\/b><\/h5>\n
Zeman\u2019s manoeuvre to appoint Babi\u0161 failed<\/b><\/h5>\n
Is this the end of an era for Czech socialism?<\/b><\/h5>\n