The country’s new government will be headed by Andrej Babis, who has opposed continued arms provision to Kiev
Right-wing Euroskeptic Andrej Babis, who campaigned on a promise to curtail military aid to Ukraine and focus on domestic concerns, has been sworn in as the new prime minister of the Czech Republic.
Babis’ ANO party won a parliamentary election in October, but fell short of a majority, and has formed a coalition with the SPD and AUTO parties. The veteran politician served as prime minister between 2017 and 2021, and as finance minister and deputy prime minister before that.
Babis, 71, thanked his supporters for the trust they placed in his party in a short statement on X.
“I promise that I will be a Prime Minister who defends the interests of all our citizens at home and abroad, and… who will work to make the Czech Republic the best place to live on the entire planet,” he wrote.
In his speech at Prague Castle following the appointment ceremony, Babis said he would take on Brussels not only over Ukraine aid but also energy, VAT, and tariffs.
The politician has vowed to reject the bloc’s migration policy and its plans for curbing carbon emissions.
Babis has long promised to switch the Czech government’s focus to domestic issues, criticizing state aid to Ukraine provided under his predecessor Petr Fiala, under whom the country initiated a major international munitions procurement scheme for Kiev.
“We will not give Ukraine a single crown from our budget for weapons,” Babis said shortly after his party won earlier this year.
However, despite vowing to stop funding Kiev at the expense of the Czech taxpayer, he has signaled that he would allow the country’s arms companies to continue exporting to Ukraine.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, another vocal critic of military aid to Ukraine, congratulated Babis on taking office.
“A committed Czech patriot is back at the helm,” he wrote on X on Tuesday.
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