Prospect of a ‘Czech Trump’ victory worries Brussels

In the Czech Republic, where parliamentary elections are being held on Friday and Saturday, Babiš’s party appears to be leading the race. The right-wing leader has run his campaign on promises to halt military assistance to Ukraine.

According to RT, voting in the Central European country of around 11 million people is set to begin at 2 p.m. local time, with preliminary results expected soon after.

Final polls published earlier this week suggested that Babiš’s ANO (Yes) party — led by the billionaire agribusinessman known as the “Czech Trump” — could win more than 29 percent of the vote, putting it about nine points ahead of the ruling center-right coalition Spolu (“Together”).

The current government of Prime Minister Petr Fiala has entered the race with the lowest approval ratings of any Czech administration in more than a decade, amid public anger over austerity measures and corruption scandals.

Analysts believe that no single party will secure an outright majority, meaning the election winner will almost certainly have to negotiate either a coalition government or attempt to rule with a minority cabinet.