Billionaire Andrej Babiš's ANO party won a landslide victory in the Czech Republic's parliamentary elections on Saturday, opening the way for a government that would strengthen the populist, anti-immigration bloc in Europe and reduce support for Ukraine.
Babiš told supporters that ANO would seek to form a single-party government, but would also talk to two smaller parties - including the far-right SPD - to secure support, as his party does not have an absolute majority, Reuters reports.
He again rejected accusations that his victory could make the Central European country a less reliable partner for the European Union and NATO.
Who will Babiš form an alliance with?
"We want to save Europe... and we are clearly pro-European and pro-NATO," Babiš told reporters.
With almost all the results in, ANO was on track to replace the current government of Prime Minister Petar Fiala. Fiala congratulated Babiš and conceded defeat.
In the campaign, ANO promised faster growth, higher wages and pensions, lower taxes, and tax breaks for students and young families.
Those promises - which will cost billions of euros, end austerity policies and test the country's frugal mentality - have resonated with many Czechs whose real incomes have fallen sharply in recent years due to rising inflation.
However, Babiš must overcome certain obstacles to become prime minister, including conflict of interest laws, as he owns a chemical and food conglomerate, as well as long-standing fraud allegations related to the use of an EU subsidy more than 15 years ago - allegations he denies.
With 99 percent of polling stations processed, ANO led with 34,7 percent, while Spolu was second with 23,2 percent, the Statistical Office said.
President Petr Pavel, who appoints the prime minister, is scheduled to begin talks with party leaders on Sunday.
According to projections, ANO will win around 80 seats in the lower house of parliament out of a total of 200, so it will need to find broader support.
Babiš said he would talk to the Motorists, who oppose the EU's green policies, and the anti-EU and anti-NATO SPD.
Motorist leader Petr Mačinka said he was open to talks with ANO, and the SPD said the same.
"Strong Czech Republic"
"We went to the elections with the aim of ending Petar Fiala's government, and even supporting the minority ANO government is important to us, because it would fulfill the goal we had in these elections," said SPD deputy leader Radim Fiala.
Overall, pro-Russian fringe parties fared worse than expected - the SPD won 7,8 percent, while the far-left Stacilo! party, formed around the Communist Party, remained below the 5 percent threshold to enter parliament.
Babiš, who led a center-left government from 2017 to 2021, once wanted the Czech Republic to adopt the euro, but has since become a Eurosceptic and supporter of US President Donald Trump, handing out caps with the words "Strong Czech Republic" inspired by Trump's slogan "Make America Great Again."
An ally of Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, Babiš has aligned himself with a number of far-right parties in the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament, seeking to challenge mainstream European policies, including decarbonization.
He rejected calls from the SPD to hold a referendum on leaving the EU and NATO, but said he would end the "Czech initiative" which, with the help of Western donors, was buying millions of artillery shells from around the world for Ukraine.
ANO believes that NATO and the EU should take on the obligation to assist Ukraine, and the party abstained in some votes in the European Parliament on the issue of supporting Kiev and its candidacy for EU membership, which Babiš has also disputed in the past.
Bonus video:
