Andrej Babisz He is a 71-year-old billionaire, populist and controversial former Czech prime minister. It is sometimes compared to US President Donald Trump, former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi or the Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán. In fact, however, he represents his own Czech populism – writes Dw.com.
In the election campaign he spoke against the “system” and “corrupt politicians”. Although the billionaire likes to introduce himself as a rebellious outsider, he was part of the country's establishment all his life. Born in today's Slovakia, he grew up in a family belonging to the powerful elite of the communist dictatorship of Czechoslovakia.
He studied economics in Bratislava and later worked in foreign trade. His mysterious promotion to the group of the richest people in the Czech Republic began in the 1990s.
In 1995 he took over the agri-chemical holding of Agrofert, which he previously managed as a director. Babisz tells several versions of the story about how he became the owner of AGROFERT, although many critics consider them unclear and sometimes unbelievable – writes Dw.com.
Currently, AGROFERT covers about 250 companies around the world, and Babisza's assets are estimated at around $ 3.5 billion.
Andrej Babisz and Ano will win the elections in the czach?
In 2011, he founded an ano movement, which means the action of dissatisfied citizens and is also a Czech word meaning “yes”.
Babisz was the Minister of Finance in 2014-2017, and then the prime minister in 2017-2021. During his term of office, debates were pending on his alleged participation in fraud and corruption. The brain nest was the road of such matters.
Stork Nest is a wellness center near Prague, for which Babisz received funding from the EU. Apparently, he formally withdrew the company from the Agrofert Holding for some time to allow her to apply for subsidies.
The investigation into the stork nest has been taking place for almost a decade. Several rulings have already been made, and in June this year the court in Prague ruled that the whole case must be resumed.
Andrej Babisz raises extreme emotions
This is just one of the many stories about Babisza's alleged financial irregularities. For years, he has been on the first pages of newspapers because of accusations of conflicts of interest, avoiding taxes, corruption, influencing the media and the past in the secret services of communist Czechoslovakia – writes DW.Com.
In 2023, Babisz was forced to sell his media companies due to the law regulating conflicts of interest.
Like many populist leaders in other countries, they have long agreed against migrants, and recently also against Ukrainian refugees. However, there have been reports that his business empire employs many employees from countries outside the EU, such as Vietnam or Ukraine, sometimes in inhuman conditions.
Elections in the Czech Republic
The polls grant the victory to the ano movement. The popularity of this opposition party was caused by the errors of the current government coalition of Prime Minister Petr Fiali, but above all the increase in inflation and rising energy prices. In the election campaign, Babisz drew attention to the path, collapse on the housing market, lack of investment and the dramatic situation of health care.
Babisz excluded post -election negotiations with current ruling parties. His previous, minority government was a coalition with social democrats, which was based on the voices of communists. After the election in 2021, social democrats and communists lost their places in parliament. Now they are counting on returning to the deputy chamber.
Source: DW.COM, PAP
