The Czech Republic faces a tough duel between former prime minister Andrej Babis and former chief of staff Petr Pavel in the second round of the presidential election in two weeks. As expected, the first lap ended on Saturday with a close race between the two. Already on election night it was clear that the election campaign must now pick up speed. Both candidates blamed each other for their communist past.
33 years after the so-called Velvet Revolution in the Czech Republic, two candidates with a communist background are in the second round for the first time. Economist Danuse Nerudová finished surprisingly behind in third place, although a few weeks ago she still held the top spot in some polls.
Retired army general Pavel seems to have better cards for the second round from the current perspective. Almost all defeated candidates have already pledged support for Pavel. Psychologically, the fact that Pavel emerged as the winner of the poll – even if only by a few tenths of a percentage point – could also play a role. In previous direct presidential elections in 2013 and 2018, the winner of the first round – the current head of state Milos Zeman – emerged as the winner of the second round. Past polls and bet makers also favor Pavel for the second round.
A tough election campaign is expected
A tough electoral campaign is expected for the next two weeks before the second round. It all but started at press conferences after the first round of elections on Saturday, when the two rivals argued over which of the two was more deeply enmeshed in the communist past. Pavel described Babiš as a “danger of populism and a departure from democracy and the pro-Western European course” in the Czech Republic.
Babis, who sees himself strengthened by the recent acquittal in the so-called “Stork’s Nest” case, attested to Pavel’s political inexperience and career as a “communist spy”. Babis even drew a comparison with Russian head of state Vladimir Putin and his KGB past. For years, Babis himself has been accused of working for the Communist secret service (StB), which he flatly denies.
For many voters, neither Pavel nor Babis are eligible because of their past. Above all, it remains to be seen to what extent supporters of third-placed Nerudová will follow her recommendation in favor of Pavel. In the previous election campaign, Nerudová had presented herself as a candidate against Pavel and Babis, who had nothing to do with the communist era.
Babis also has to deal with being born in Slovakia, which can be heard in her Czech. Although this has never been an issue in official politics or in the electoral campaign, one can read in discussions on social media that it bothers some in the case of the symbolic presidency – in contrast to the prime minister’s office. Biting parallels are drawn with the last communist president of the joint state of Czechoslovakia, Slovak Gustáv Husák.
No-confidence vote against the government
In any case, Babis seems determined to be fully involved in the election campaign. Already next week, his ANO party started a no-confidence vote against the five-party government of Conservative Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) in parliament. The official reason is that the coalition prevented the debate of various issues in the Chamber of Deputies that the opposition wanted.
With the coalition having a comfortable 108-vote majority in the 200-member House, the no-confidence motion has little chance of success. However, a televised debate should offer the opposition leader a welcome platform. (apa)