Economy to dominate weekend's Czech general election

ISTANBUL

The billionaire leader of the Czech Republic’s main Eurosceptic party is the focus of attention ahead of the weekend’s general election.

Andrej Babis, the 63-year-old leader of the ANO party, is challenging outgoing Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka’s Social Democrats.

Opinion polls suggest Babis, who only entered politics in 2011, is likely to see ANO become the biggest party in the EU country’s 200-seat Chamber of Deputies.

However, making a coalition deal may prove tricky as Babis is under criminal investigation over fraud charges linked to EU subsidies.

His time as finance minister came to an abrupt end earlier this year when an under-fire Sobotka replaced him with Ivan Pilny amid allegations of financial irregularities.

Babis has rejected the allegations, but other party leaders have already expressed reluctance to engage in political horse-trading with someone facing a police probe.

Voters will go to the polls on Friday and Saturday to choose between 31 parties in an open-list proportional representation contest across 14 multi-member constituencies.

Turnout in 2013 was just over 59 percent -- about five million voters -- according to the Czech Statistical Office.

Another coalition government is likely to see some combination of Social Democrats, ANO and Christian Democrats.

The Communists are likely to remain the largest opposition party, alongside a range of smaller parties who can pass the 5 percent electoral threshold.

Economy dominates campaigning

This year’s contest will also be the first to see a spending cap placed on campaigning -- €3.3 million ($3.8 million).

The economy has dominated campaigning, with issues surrounding wages taking center stage.

Economically, the country is doing well, with Eurostat data published in September showing the Czech Republic’s second quarter 2017 growth -- 2.5 percent -- among the highest in the Eurozone alongside Sweden, Romania and the Netherlands.

It also has some of the lowest unemployment in the EU and although it is compelled by the 2003 Treaty of Accession to take on the single currency, most Czechs remain opposed to the euro.

However, its relations with Europe remain shaky. The Czech Republic has been one of several EU members to have fought against moves to take in thousands of asylum seekers, particularly in the aftermath of the 2015 refugee crisis.

Along with Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, Czechs have resisted EU-wide burden-sharing and have been particularly opposed to German leader Angela Merkel’s open-door policy to asylum seekers.

Last month, reports showed that since an EU plan to relocate asylum seekers across member states was initiated, Hungary and Poland had not taken in a single asylum seeker while the Czech Republic relocated just 12 refugees and Slovakia took 16.

In July, the Czech Republic -- plus Hungary and Poland -- was threatened by the European Commission with legal suits should it not implement the EU migrant relocation measures.

According to a statement, the Commission sent “reasoned opinions” to the countries “for non-compliance with their legal obligations on relocation”.