Former and most likely future Czech Prime Minister, leader of the populist Action of Dissatisfied Citizens, Andrej Babiš, suddenly began praising the Czech initiative "Ammunition for Ukraine" after the election, which he had threatened to abolish during the campaign before the parliamentary elections on October 3 and 4, as well as aid to Ukraine in general.
"Of course, that initiative is certainly good, but it should have been done directly, it should have been done by NATO member states, it should have been transparent. I viewed it like President Trump: that NATO has some mechanisms for selling American weapons," Babiš said today after forming a parliamentary group in Parliament.
Babiš completely changed his story today and said that he had already spoken with Czech President Petr Pavel to see how this international initiative works, in which the Czech Republic mediates to find artillery ammunition, primarily post-Soviet, in third countries, including Serbia, which is paid for by Western countries under this initiative and donated to Ukraine.
Immediately after the election, Babiš changed his tone and emphasized that he was only bothered by the fact that the initiative allegedly enriched Czech arms dealers who mediate in the purchase, and that he was ready to talk to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about how to make the initiative transparent.
The Czech Republic is only an intermediary in this initiative, having only paid a small amount once last year, when the initiative began.
Babiš also said today that the Czech Republic will no longer pay military aid to Ukraine "directly from the budget."
"If we are in the government, we say: 'Czech arms factories, if you want to export arms to Ukraine, we have no problem with that!' But we will not give money directly from our budget to Ukraine for arms, not a single crown, because we claim that we are giving 2,5 billion euros to Europe, which is helping Ukraine," Babiš said.
"We have helped Ukraine and will help, but now no longer directly but through the European Union. We don't have money here for the Czech Republic," Babiš said.
Babiš today accused the outgoing center-right government of Prime Minister Petar Fijala of leaving him with a paralyzed budget.
The likely future prime minister accused Fiala's government, and especially Defense Minister Jana Chernokhova, of wasting money on weapons purchases.
"We now have tanks, but we don't have roads and we don't have medicine. What good are tanks to us...", said Babiš.
Babiš, a tycoon of the agricultural sector and chemical industry, the seventh richest Czech, announced that he will know this week, on Friday, how he has agreed to divide the portfolios with two smaller anti-system parties that want to be in his government.
The radical nationalist, anti-immigrant and more anti-Ukrainian than pro-Russian "Freedom and Direct Democracy" (SPD), which has a third of its members from completely marginal extremist parties in the House of Representatives, intends to send non-party experts to the government, and wants the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives for its leader, Tomi Okamura.
The SPD's main goal was to win the interior ministry, but that is no longer an option because Okamura has now demanded, after the election, the dismissal of the police chief who is prosecuting Okamura for racist, brutal posters against refugees during the election campaign.
Babiš categorically rejected politicians changing the police chief at their own will due to their own criminal prosecutions and added that after what he called Okamura's meaningless and unfortunate statements, the question is whether the SPD should get that portfolio.
The Eurosceptic, but not pro-Russian, anti-systemic right-wing new party Motorists for Yourself also wants two to three ministries in the government, and for its honorary president, MEP Filip Turek, it is seeking to be the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
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