PRAGUE: Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala warned supporters that his main election opponent Andrej Babiš would threaten the country’s democracy and European position by cooperating with extremist parties.
Fiala’s SPOLU centre-right coalition faces a difficult battle against Babiš’s ANO party in the October 3-4 parliamentary election.
Opinion polls show ANO leading with over 30% support, giving them a 10-point advantage over the governing SPOLU coalition.
Fiala told a crowd at Prague’s Peace Square that the country’s European roots could be eroded if Babiš relies on far-right or far-left parties.
“People are worried over what happens if populists and extremists win,“ he said during his campaign speech.
The Prime Minister expressed personal concern for the first time since the 1989 Velvet Revolution that ended Communist rule in Czechoslovakia.
Fiala hopes to boost support among mainstream voters by highlighting his rival’s potential coalition partners.
A 23-year-old law student in Prague shared similar concerns about smaller parties potentially joining a Babiš-led government.
Babiš’s ANO party began as a pro-European centrist movement in 2011 but has since transformed into an anti-Brussels, anti-immigration group.
The billionaire politician recently formed the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament with Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and other far-right European parties. – Reuters