The Czech Elections - A Turning Point in Prague
- Conor Long
- Oct 12
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 17
October 2025 is proving to be an important electoral month across the continent of Europe. The people of Ireland, Portugal, Estonia, the Netherlands, Georgia, and Northern Cyprus are all going to the polls this month to carry out their civic duty. However, this article will focus on one with particularly significant implications for the European political landscape, the Czech parliamentary elections. The Czech Republic has just held a parliamentary election between October 3rd and 4th, which determined which MP’s (poslanci) will make up the government, and subsequently, who will become the new Prime Minister (předseda vlády).
The Election:
The election was for the 200 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecká sněmovna). However, the real prize for those who get elected is the chair of the PM and control of government. While there were many parties competing, the two primary political factions in competition were the ANO (Action of Dissatisfied Citizens/ YES) Party and the SPOLU (Together) Coalition.
The right-wing ANO Party is led by billionaire agricultural tycoon Andrej Babiš, the former PM from 2017 to 2021, often referred to as the ‘Czech Trump’. The populist movement was heavily favored to win the election, leading the polls in the run up. ANO and Babiš promised increased expenditure on welfare, wages, and pensions, while simultaneously reducing foreign aid, most notably, military support for Ukraine. From the outside looking in, it seems their apparent goal is to ‘look after our own people first’, which may not be inherently a bad thing in itself, but it is a major change of tune for a country which was previously very supportive of Ukraine, given the Czech’s turbulent history with Russia.
ANO’s main rival was SPOLU, the previous center-right government coalition, which is composed of the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL), Fiala’s Civic Democrats (ODS), and the liberal-conservative ‘TOP 09’. The center-right STAN (Mayors and Independents) was the fourth member of the coalition; however, they decided to run on their own this time around and didn’t campaign with SPOLU, similar to the liberal ‘Pirate Party’ who, last September, abandoned the ruling coalition at the time. SPOLU’s campaign focused on fiscal stability, keeping the Czech Republic firmly aligned with the EU and NATO, and contrary to ANO, they wished to adhere to their strong support for Ukraine. In this sense, SPOLU seemed like the ‘safest’ choice, being the incumbent coalition, and advocating for continuation of the status quo in relation to the EU and Ukraine.
Results:
The Ano party, led by former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, won the most votes (~34–35 %) of the election. Following the results of the election, the outgoing coalition government led by Petr Fiala conceded defeat. However, it was not a complete victory for ANO, as they failed to secure an outright majority. Of the 200 seats up for grabs in the Chamber of Deputies, ANO attained about 80 seats. For ANO and Babiš, it seems they will have to form a coalition government with another party. Babiš has made it clear that he would prefer a one-party ANO government, but it looks like that will not be the case. It seems he will have to settle for negotiating with fellow right-wing parties such as SPD (Freedom and Direct Democracy) and the Motorists party to form a government.
Why It Matters:
So, what does this all mean, not only for Czech citizens, but, Europe, and the world? Well, a victory for SPOLU, it seems, would have led to ‘more of the same’. However, this is not the case. Victory for ANO, represents a turning point in Czech politics, further realigning the country with its right-leaning neighbors in Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, contributing to the phenomenon in the rise of right wing/ populist parties in Europe.
Throughout ANO’S campaign, they promised that, if elected to power, they would increase spending in order to raise wages, pensions and child benefits, while simultaneously freezing/ cutting taxes for young people and families, and lowering energy bills. All this was promised as a means to combat inflation, as they criticized the former government, claiming that their fiscal stability and budget deficit reduction tactics did not help the average citizen. Of course, if Babiš keeps his word, then the ordinary Czech should, theoretically, have a more comfortable standard of living, or will they? Critics of ANO suggest that heavy public spending will only fuel inflation or debt, forcing citizens to spend more via higher taxes or higher prices.
It’s not just ANO’s domestic policies that will impact the average person, but also their foreign policies. The country is amongst the biggest donors of ammunition to Ukraine, thanks to the Czech ammunition initiative. However, that may change in the coming weeks and months. During the campaign, Babiš promised that he would not allocate money from the Czech national budget to fund weapons/ammunition for Ukraine, pointing out that the Czech Republic already provides enough assistance through EU and NATO mechanisms. If the new Czech government decides to reduce its military and financial support for Ukraine, it would have far reaching effects on the EU and NATO. Evidently, cutting aid to Ukraine would benefit the Czech Republic financially, but not so much defensively. A weakened Ukraine could mean a strengthened Russia, and for Czech citizens, Russian threats may feel closer to home than ever.
Conclusion:
In short, the people of the Czech Republic were not just choosing their favorite politicians, they were voting on how safe they feel, both physically and financially, and whether their wages can keep up with a rising cost of living. It’s easy to think geopolitics is something that only politicians, diplomats, or army generals should worry about. But the truth is, the consequences of this election, whether positive or negative, will be felt by every average Czech citizen. That’s why geopolitics matters. Elections are not just about politicians and their respective parties. They’re about how ordinary people live, how much they pay, and how they see themselves in a complicated, multilateral world.
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