Czech former Prime Minister Babiš wins legislative elections, may reduce aid to Ukraine
Today Sunday, Czech President Petr Pavel met with leaders of various parties to discuss the results of Saturday's parliamentary election, first meeting with former Prime Minister Babiš, who led in the election.
According to AFP reports, according to the final statistics, the "Civic Movement of Discontent" led by former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš won 34.51% of the vote, securing 80 seats out of 200 in parliament, but did not exceed half, and will need to form a coalition with other parties to govern.
Andrej Babiš stated that he hopes to cooperate with the far-right "Freedom and Direct Democracy Party" (SPD) and the right-wing "Voice of Drivers" party. The former secured 15 seats, while the latter obtained 13 seats.
Babiš was in power from 2017 to 2021, and during his campaign, he promised to increase social welfare and reduce aid to Ukraine to prioritize the interests of Czech citizens.
He also said that he would re-examine the international initiative led by the Czech Republic to provide shells to Ukraine, and stated that if necessary, he would have "consultations" with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.
His return to power may mean closer relations with Hungary and Slovakia, two countries that have refused to provide any military aid to Ukraine and have hindered sanctions against Russia.
However, Babiš assured Ukrainian public media (Suspilne) that night that Prague would not completely overturn its predecessor's support for Kyiv.
He said: "We assist Ukraine through the EU [...] and will continue to do so in this way." He also mentioned that he had met with Zelenskyy "three times."
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845184202560522/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.