A constitutional confrontation is intensifying in Prague as President Petr Pavel continues to raise objections to appointing election winner Andrej Babiš as Czech prime minister, citing the billionaire’s alleged conflict of interest.
Europhile figures are seeking to delegitimise the October election, which resulted in the victory of Babiš’s sovereignist ANO movement and the likely formation of a right-wing, eurosceptic government.
Speaking on Monday, November 17th, Pavel told Czech Radio that if Babiš “is not able to satisfactorily resolve his conflict of interest, then by appointing him I would be contributing to the creation of an illegal situation.”
He added that ANO, as the winning party, should nominate an alternative candidate if the problem remained unresolved. According to Czech law, Babiš would have 30 days after his appointment to address any conflict arising from his ownership of the Agrofert conglomerate.
ANO swiftly rejected the idea. First vice-chair Karel Havlíček insisted that “our candidate is the only one, and that is Andrej Babiš,” stressing that the party won a record number of votes and had already formed a majority coalition with the anti-immigration SPD and and the anti-EU Motorists for Themselves.
Fellow party leader Alena Schillerová also dismissed Pavel’s intervention, saying:
Citizens of this country chose Andrej Babiš in democratic elections … I do not understand the president’s statement.
Despite having no constitutional authority over the government’s programme or its foreign policy orientation, Pavel and members of the outgoing government have increasingly pressured Babiš to clarify his business arrangements before any appointment.
The president has also signalled that he expects the incoming cabinet to align with his positions on security and external affairs, prompting criticism from legal experts who note that the constitution grants him no such power.
Babiš has promised to explain how he will handle his business holdings “immediately before” being appointed, reiterating that while he will take “irreversible” steps, he will not sell Agrofert.
Babiš is the owner of hundreds of companies around central Europe, ranging from farming to chemicals or healthcare, many of which receive national and EU subsidies and public contracts. This is incompatible with the law that sets out requirements for holding a government post.
During his previous premiership, transferring the company into trust funds was deemed insufficient by both Czech courts and the European Commission.
Outgoing prime minister Petr Fiala, a prominent pro-EU figure, claimed Babiš “has a duty to explain” his future arrangements, warning of potential EU funding complications.
But the emphasis on a legal conflict may be serving a broader political purpose: to delegitimise a government that has openly pledged to challenge parts of the EU’s climate and migration agenda.
The ANO-SPD-Motorists coalition has signalled its intent to oppose the EU’s Green Deal, resist new emissions-trading rules, and defend the use of combustion engines.
Babiš himself has struck a conciliatory tone towards Brussels and NATO, saying: “I am pro-European, I want Europe to work well,” though he maintains reservations about key EU policies.
