The populist, centrist ANO party of billionaire Andrej Babis won the most votes in Czechia’s parliamentary election in early October and is teaming up with two far-right partners to form a government.
Earlier this week, the former — and likely future — Prime Minister Andrej Babis presented the three parties’ program for government to President Petr Pavel.
Occupying by far the most parliamentary seats of the three parties, ANO will have the greatest sway over the government’s policy.
But it will rely on the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) and radical-right Motorists for Themselves party to legislate, and there is concern that their demands could encourage Babis’s authoritarian instincts.
Stance on Ukraine
International headlines on the incoming government’s program focus on foreign policy, with media repeating claims from Babis’s opponents that the “Czech Trump” — as Babis is often called — will lead the country into an anti-Western, pro-Russian alliance with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
ANO has promised to reduce support for Ukrainian refugees and halt leadership of the outgoing government’s flagship program for shipping ammunition to Ukraine.
The government manifesto also prioritizes relations with the Visegrad Group (V4), which includes Poland alongside Hungary and Slovakia.
No fan of Russia
But Babis is no fan of Russia. He regularly declares that EU and NATO membership are “unquestionable” for Czechia.
ANO won the election by promising increased social support for Czech citizens and lower taxes to voters alienated by four years of austerity under Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s outgoing center-right government.
At the same time, analysts say, ANO managed to tempt those voters away from extremist parties that seek to pull Czechia away from the West.
Attitude to EU policies
The new government is likely to join its illiberal neighbors in opposing EU policy on immigration and climate change. But whether Babis will seek to block Brussels’ legislation is unclear.
During his first term as prime minister (2017–21), the billionaire clearly enjoyed hobnobbing with European leaders such as France’s Emmanuel Macron, while keeping his Euroskepticism for domestic consumption.
The network of companies across the EU held by his agrochemicals conglomerate, Agrofert, is another potential check on any obstructionist tendencies toward the EU.
Pillars of democracy
But critics worry that at home, Babis’s promise to run the country like a business — which many see as a hint of an autocratic style of rule — could pose a fundamental threat to the region’s most mature democracy.
Czechia’s highly respected public media, for example, appear to be under threat.
The incoming government has said it plans to scrap the license fees that fund Czech Television (CT) and Czech Radio (CRo), which amount to CZK150 (€6.15 or $7.07) and CZK55 per month respectively, in favor of state financing.
Impact of direct government funding
The three parties hoping to form the next government say CT and CRo are biased. And according to research conducted by Marina Urbanikova from Brno’s Masaryk University, their supporters agree, suggesting that they are more susceptible to populist narratives about public media.
Scrapping the license fees is also seen as a way of taming these media outlets by making them dependent on a government budget that could be changed at will, Vaclav Stetka, a leading expert on media in Central and Eastern Europe based at Loughborough University in the UK, told DW.
An open letter sent to media by prominent figures from the dissident movement that helped topple communism in Czechia 35 years ago called the move “a proposal to liquidate public media” and warned of “the destruction of one of the pillars of democracy.”
‘Untransparent and misused’
But worse could yet be to come.
When he first served as prime minister, Babis was accused of working with illiberal forces behind the scenes to try to gain control over CT.
In the run up to the recent general election, he promised a full-frontal assault on what he labeled “untransparent institutions that are being misused for the benefit of this government,” announcing he wanted to merge CT and CRo into a new entity.
Babis claims this would deliver huge savings. Analysts and media professionals say that would be unlikely.
Both Stetka and Urbanikova told DW that the idea of restructuring the broadcasters is actually driven by an ambition to seize control by offering the opportunity to handpick their leadership and management.
‘Considerable risks’
Developments in neighboring countries provide a warning of the direction in which things could go.
“It’s clear that such moves bring considerable risks,” said Urbanikova. “For instance, merging public service media was one of Viktor Orban‘s first steps towards taking full control of Hungary’s democratic institutions.”
Robert Fico followed suit last year when his government restructured Slovakia’s public media outlets. Since the transformation, journalists have complained of editorial interference.
“Slovak public media has moved closer to the government agenda,” said Stetka. “The same was done in Hungary. The worry is that Babis is seeking to copy the model.”
Robust democratic institutions
Czechia might, however, avoid a similar fate thanks to its more robust democratic institutions.
The first obstacle Babis would encounter is the president, who must formally approve his government.
Pavel has suggested he could reject certain ministerial appointments, stressing that guaranteeing the independence of democratic institutions — including public media — is an essential task of any government.
Stetka notes that unlike Hungary and Slovakia, Czechia has an upper house of parliament that can act as a brake on the government, and that public media has a much longer and stronger culture in Czechia than elsewhere in the region.
Analysts also suggest that the EU could trigger penalties under the European Media Freedom Act.
Repeat performance
However, the ultimate shield might be found on the streets.
Public broadcasters have been the target of politicians across the region since the collapse of communism over 35 years ago.
Stetka asserts that political elites in Central and Eastern Europe have never accepted the premise of an independent public service media.
In Czechia, however, previous attempts to interfere in the running of public media have tended to backfire: Twenty five years ago, a bid by the government of the day to seize control of CT flopped amid huge protests.
A similar reaction is likely should Babis try to do the same thing.
The billionaire already suffered the indignity of the country’s largest protests since 1989’s Velvet Revolution when a quarter of a million people demanded his resignation during his last term in office.
It’s unlikely he’ll want to mark his return to power with a repeat performance.
Edited by: Aingeal Flanagan
