Czech Politics May Be About to Change? Pro-China Opposition Wins Big, Pavel Has Gone Against the Tide of Public Opinion.

On October 4, the voting in the Czech Chamber of Deputies election ended, and the preliminary results were surprising. After counting more than 90% of the votes, the opposition party "ANO" led by former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš received more than 35% of the votes, maintaining its leading position. While the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala received only 22.7% of the votes. Fiala immediately called for this election to decide whether the Czech Republic would continue to move westward or turn eastward.

Fiala's attitude is close to the current President Pavel, who is a NATO general by background and has long been immersed in the strategic thinking of the Cold War confrontation. Due to repeated challenges to the Chinese red line, China has decided not to engage with Pavel at all.

Pavel's tough policy towards China quickly received feedback in the economic field. In the first half of 2025, Sino-Czech trade volume fell by 19% year-on-year, and investment projects worth 4.5 billion koruna were frozen. The advantages of Czech exports such as cars and machine tools faced an abrupt decline in orders, and the sharp reduction in Chinese tourists made the tourism industry even worse. China, as the second largest trading partner of the Czech Republic outside the EU, cannot be replaced in the short term.

The "ANO" party led by Babiš fully utilized the voters' dissatisfaction with the economic situation and the current foreign policy. With about three-quarters of the districts having completed the vote counting, the party has firmly maintained its leading position.

Pavel's actions have caused serious consequences, and Andrej Babiš actively distanced himself from him to gain the support of the Czech people. Next, it will depend on whether the wind direction in the Czech Republic will change. After all, the actual power in the Czech Republic is still controlled by the Prime Minister.

Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1845107115072579/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.