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Fico Shooting: An Opportunity For Regional Autocrats To Weaponise “Polarisation” – QUICK TAKE
16 May 2024
A few weeks before the elections, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has regained public support. If he is not swept away by the fourth wave of the pandemic, it is likely he will hold on to power.
A few months ago, it seemed that the days of Andrej Babiš’s government were numbered. After the catastrophic winter of 2020/2021, when 30,000 Czechs died as a result of Covid-19 and where the mortality rate was among the highest in the world, the ruling ANO party was at a historic low.
In March, the liberal coalition of Pirates and Mayors (PirStan) were on top of the polls, followed by the centre-right coalition SPOLU (Eng. Together). Together, these two opposition groups could form the most progressive cabinet in central Europe.
But that’s all in the past. As the situation surrounding the pandemic in Czechia improved, the ruling ANO party rose to 26 per cent according to recent polls. The centre-right SPOLU coalition is in second place (21.5 per cent), and PirStan in third (20 per cent).