Final Word from Thursday, September 4, 2025

"Everything is at stake now," says Spolu in its election campaign, and PM Petr Fiala is betting everything on convincing voters that a vote for the opposition means a vote for an extremist government led by ANO Chair Andrej Babiš. Parts of the opposition, meanwhile, are arguing that ANO isn't the real opposition at all and that a vote for Babiš isn't much different from a vote for Fiala. This leaves Babiš to try to convince skeptics that he truly is the opposition and won't join forces with the current coalition parties. Yet from the standpoint of Babiš's commercial interests and the existing world situation, it doesn't make much sense for ANO to rely in any way after the elections on SPD or Stačilo!. It's not like mid-2018, when getting the support of the Communists had few negative business or political implications. Babiš is opportunistic and must understand the importance of having a salonfähig (respectable) first government. Once the world situation worsens, he can always dump it and do a deal with the extremists. [ Czech Republic ODS Enough! ]