Czechs go to the polls on Friday and Saturday facing a deteriorating security situation in Europe and fears of Russian interference.
Populist billionaire Andrej Babis, 71, is tipped to head the next government, replacing the strongly pro-Western, pro-Ukraine coalition.
But he'll likely need allies on the extremes of Czech politics – and their price will not be cheap.
We'll never drag the Czech Republic to the East. I can absolutely rule that out, Babis told a crowd of mostly elderly supporters in Kladno, just outside Prague.
Referring to his administration's decision to expel Russian diplomats over a 2014 ammunition depot explosion attributed to Russia's military intelligence, Babis emphasized, We weren't the ones who sat down with Putin!
He asserted, Never - I repeat, never - will we consider leaving the European Union, expressing concern over the dire outcomes of Brexit.
Despite being a prominent figure with connections to Trump, Babis's ANO party may struggle to secure a governing majority, forcing him to seek alliances with the ultra-nationalist SPD and other smaller parties with potentially risky agendas.
Opinion polls indicate that some of Babis’s potential coalition partners push for referendum discussions on exiting the EU and NATO, a shift Babis firmly dismisses despite criticism of the current EU structure.
As voters prepare to make a choice, young progressive activists like Ondrej Kapralek from the Pirate Party express concern that their country might follow Slovakia and Hungary down a path of far-right populism. Russia is waging a massive campaign of disinformation against the Czech Republic, he warns.
The outcome of these elections will significantly affect the European stance towards security and Russian relations, a pivotal concern for the region.
