On Monday, June 23rd, the Prague High Court overturned former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s earlier acquittal in a “fraud” case dating back nearly two decades.
The ruling forces the same district court that cleared his name last year to re-examine the charges just months before the parliamentary elections in October that Babiš’s right-wing populist ANO party, a founding member of Patriots for Europe (PfE), is set to win with flying colors.
With politicians from the ‘center-right’ government of PM Petr Fiala—Europe’s most unpopular leader—already calling for Babiš to drop out of the race, critics say the Prague court’s motivation could not be clearer: to prevent the populist leader from retaking power by whatever means necessary, as defeating him at the ballot box seems all but impossible at this point.
This would make it yet another example of good old-fashioned lawfare, like we’ve already seen in the case of National Rally leader Marine Le Pen in France. As a Trump-like figure in Czech politics—a billionaire entrepreneur who founded his political movement to ‘challenge the system’ from the outside but still maintains a vast business empire—there is always something from his past that can be used against him.
The case in question involves allegations from 2006 that Babiš violated subsidy laws by concealing his ownership of a recreational resort in order to get €2 million in EU funds. A subsequent probe was launched in 2008, years before he entered politics, but no wrongdoing was found during seven separate investigations into his company (which owns the resort) until 2017.
Still, just one month before the 2017 elections—which Babiš’s ANO, founded in 2011 on an anti-corruption platform, eventually won—prosecutors formally charged him with “fraud,” albeit unsuccessfully. They then reopened the case once more in 2019 after his first acquittal, but the courts cleared his name a second time as well.
Now, history is repeating itself: another election and another likely victory for ANO, so the courts appear to be working overtime to make sure Babiš cannot become the next prime minister of the Czech Republic.
“That is why I speak of purposeful and politically motivated criminal prosecution,” Babiš wrote in a lengthy X post, explaining the situation on Monday, adding that the mainstream parties are after him because “I would not steal with them and no one could corrupt me.”
Twice, the court of first instance acquitted me of all charges, but even so, today, once again three and a half months before the parliamentary elections, the acquittal was overturned by the appellate court based on falsehoods, fabrications, and without any new evidence.
According to polls, ANO is leading with 31%, far ahead of Fiala’s three-party electoral coalition, collectively known as Spolu, trailing with 21%. For a prospective government coalition, ANO could also enlist the nationalist SPD, which is currently polling in third place with 13%, as well as the smaller AUTO party, which is hovering on the parliamentary threshold of 5%.
In contrast, Spolu can only rely on its liberal coalition partner Stan (10%) after the departure of its progressive junior partner, the Pirate Party, in late 2024, following internal disputes over who was to blame for the government’s humiliating defeat in last year’s regional and senate elections.
Babiš’ victory would also spell trouble for the ruling elites in Brussels, as the right-wing populist Patriots, the EU’s main opposition bloc, would gain another seat in the European Council. In practice, the Czech Republic would be able to use its veto to protect Hungary against the political abuses of the ‘rule of law’ by other EU members, and vice versa. It would also give them a better chance of blocking legislation that is not in the interests of Central Europe.
