Babiš and Zeman Plotting Post-Election Czexit?

As Rebecca Perring writes in Express.co.uk a post-election Czexit could be in play. Excerpt below. Billionaire former finance minister Andrej Babis is heading up a campaign steered towards Czechs who feel forgotten by the Brussels club, and his anti-EU rhetoric is gathering momentum, as polls predict he will seize power in the October elections.  His anti-establishment party … Read more

Czech Republic on Brink of Stepping Back Behind Iron Curtain

As L. Todd Wood reports in The Washington Times the Czech Republic is on the verge of slipping back into Russia’s “iron embrace”. Excerpt below: One of the hallmarks of the ex-Soviet countries is the reign of the self-serving elite, which evolved from the old communist “nomenklatura” — the top party cadre. Oligarchs usually run the country, … Read more

Will the Czech Donald Trump Be the Next Prime Minister?

andrej Babis

As Peter Laca writes in Bloomberg  Czech voters may have found their own version of Donald Trump. Excerpt below. Like the U.S. in 2016, voters in the Czech Republic look set to hand power to a populist billionaire who attacks traditional parties and promises to run the state as one of his businesses. Andrej Babis is leading in … Read more

There Are Accusations that Babis Was a Russian Spy. The Truth?

Slovakia’s Constitutional Court has ruled there is sufficent evidence that Babiš was an agent of the StB, the communist secret police. The Slovak keeper of communist police archives has uncovered at least 12 documents outlining Babiš recruitment, under the code name Bureš, as well as extensive records of spying activities. Thursday’s ruling means any new court … Read more

Is the Czech Republic Falling Under Putin’s Shadow?

Writing in Foreign Policy, journalist Peter Feaver argues that Russian influence is growing in the Czech Republic, with serious ramifications for the next election: On Oct. 20, voters in the Czech Republic will go to the polls for Parliamentary elections. Opinion polls show that the anti-EU, anti-immigrant ANO party will win a convincing victory. The … Read more

Czech Leaders Battle Over Russia Sanctions

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka rebukes President Miloš Zeman Tuesday over reckless comments against EU Russia sanctions.   Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka took to Twitter Tuesday to publicly scold President Miloš Zeman and reiterate that Mr Zeman’s Pro-Kremlin agenda is not supported by the Czech government.   Zemanův projev v Radě Evropy byl v příkrém … Read more

The Last Rebellion of Prime Minister Sobotka

On the day the Czech Republic commemorates the May Uprising of the Czech People, Bohuslav Sobotka’s prime minister unleashed a conflict on the Czech political scene that he has not experienced yet. “Bohuslav Sobotka decided that he would make a hard fight against all. Not just to the president, “explains Sputnik, political analyst Štěpán Kotrba, … Read more