Czech tycoon PM fights to win over parliament

pulse

January 16, 2018 12:16 PM

Campaigning on an anti-corruption, anti-euro and anti-migrant ticket, Babis's ANO (YES) movement won 78 of 200 seats in parliament in October's general election...

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis on Tuesday asked parliament to lift his immunity as he fights allegations of EU subsidy fraud and struggles to win a confidence vote for his populist minority government.

Campaigning on an anti-corruption, anti-euro and anti-migrant ticket, Babis's ANO (YES) movement won 78 of 200 seats in parliament in October's general election, far outstripping eight other elected parties.

But potential coalition partners have snubbed the chemicals, food and media tycoon dubbed the "Czech Trump", suspicious of his communist past and recent police charges over alleged fraud, which Babis flatly denies.

Addressing parliament on Tuesday, Babis insisted that "no one stole anything, there was no corruption" as he requested to be stripped of his immunity, something police also want.

The mogul, whom Forbes pegs as the second wealthiest Czech citizen, is facing fraud charges for allegedly breaking rules back in 2007 to obtain EU subsidies granted to small companies.

Despite this, Babis's ANO beat the right-wing eurosceptic ODS, the anti-establishment Pirates, the far-right, anti-Islam and anti-EU SPD and five other parties at the ballot box in October.

But party leaders in the EU state of 10.6 million people, where corruption is perceived to be rife, have shunned the 63-year-old Babis over the fraud charges related to his Stork Nest farm.

The Slovak-born billionaire allegedly pulled the farm out of his sprawling Agrofert chemicals, food and media holding in 2007 to make it eligible for an EU subsidy granted to small companies, before eventually returning it to the holding.

Liberal democracy?

Parliament was due on Tuesday to resume its debate ahead of a vote of confidence in Babis's minority administration, made up of members of ANO and unaffiliated experts.

Babis is expected to lose the vote but can count on getting a second chance from incumbent Czech President Milos Zeman, who is a staunch ally.

Zeman, who named Babis prime minister in December, said he would give the tycoon a second shot to win over parliament.

But he added that Babis should prove he has the necessary backing for his second cabinet.

Under the constitution, the president has two attempts to decide who will form the government, leaving the third and final try to the speaker of parliament, who is an ally of Babis.

The prime minister said his government would formally resign on January 17 if it loses the vote but will continue to exist in practice as he puts together a new team.

The pro-Russian Zeman clinched pole position in round one of a presidential election last weekend, setting up a challenging run-off against pro-European Jiri Drahos on January 26-27.

Analyst Jiri Pehe told AFP a victory for Zeman might "pave the way for a deeper alliance with Andrej Babis, which could lead to a change in some basic parameters of liberal democracy in the country."

But he believes that Babis's chances to govern could be torpedoed should Drahos become president.

"Drahos has made it very clear that a prosecuted man should not be prime minister," Pehe said.

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