The Action of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO, which means ‘yes’ in Czech), the populist party of former Prime Minister (2017-2021) Andrej Babis, won a landslide victory in the general election on 3 and 4 October 2025. ANO garnered 34.52% of the vote and took 80 seats, an increase of eight compared to the previous general elections on 8 and 9 October 2021.
The Spolu (meaning Together) coalition is composed of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), a liberal party positioned on the right of the political spectrum and led by outgoing Prime Minister Petr Fiala; the Christian Democratic Union-People's Party (KDU-CSL), a centrist party led by Marek Vyborny, and Tradition, Responsibility, Prosperity 09 (TOP 09), a right-wing liberal party chaired by Marketa Pekarova Adamova, obtained 23.36% of the vote and 52 seats (-19).
ANO came out ahead in 13 of the country's 14 regions. The outgoing Spolu coalition of outgoing Prime Minister Petr Fiala won in Prague.
The governing coalition was followed by Mayors and Independents (STAN), a party defending local interests and in favour of decentralisation, which is a member of the outgoing governing coalition and led by Vit Rakusan (11.23% of the vote, 22 seats, -11); the Pirate Party (CSP), led by Zdenek Hrib, former mayor of Prague (2018-2023), which won 8.97% of the vote (18 MPs, +14). Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), a radical right-wing populist party led by Tomio Okamura, won 7.78% of the vote and 15 seats (-5), and the other far-right party, Motorists for Themselves (Motoriste sobe), whose honorary president is Filip Turek, won 6.77% of the vote (13 elected representatives).
Filip Turek's party was founded in 2022 in the wake of the Independence Party of the Czech Republic. It chose its name to mark its opposition to the ban on the production of vehicles equipped with combustion engines and, beyond that, to all the initiatives proposed under the European Green Deal, as well as its desire to maintain the traditional model of the automotive industry.
Finally, Stacilo!, a coalition comprising, among others, Social Democracy (SOCDEM), formerly the Social Democratic Party (CSSD), chaired by Jana Malacova, and the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM), chaired by Katerina Konecna, won 4.31% of the vote, below the 5% threshold required to be represented in the Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecka Snemovna Parlamentu Ceske republiky), the lower house of the Czech parliament.
The left-wing forces have therefore failed to return to the Chamber of Deputies after a four-year absence. "The left is becoming irrelevant because politics is determined by the struggle between the conservative right, which is proposing a return to normality in these troubled times, and the right-wing radicals, who are expressing the discontent of the working classes with the effects of globalisation (...) The left, whether social democrats, socialists or greens, can only help to push through centre-right policies as a minority partner,” writes the editorialist of the Seznam Zpravy news site on the political situation in Europe. “The Czech Republic is no exception to this trend," he concludes.

The turnout was 68.95%, higher than that recorded at the previous general elections in October 2021 (+3.56 points). It was the third highest turnout since 1 January 1993, when the Czech Republic and Slovakia separated.

Results of the general elections of 3 and 4 October 2025 in the Czech Republic
Turnout: 68.95%

Source : https://www.volby.cz/app/ps2025/cs/results 

Andrej Babis welcomed his party's ‘historic success’ and declared that ANO would form a minority government. While ANO's victory is undeniable, the question remains: will Andrej Babis' party be able to govern? If so, with which parties?
The populist leader has stated that he will not cooperate with members of the outgoing centre-right coalition government and has said that he would prefer to see his party govern alone, relying on other forces on a case-by-case basis. During the final days of the election campaign, he promoted the idea of a minority government relying on alliances on a case-by-case basis. After the results were announced, Andrej Babis raised the possibility of collaborating with Freedom and Direct Democracy and with Motorists for Themselves.

Andrej Babis, a former centrist and liberal, has now adopted an illiberal stance and claims to be a supporter of US President Donald Trump. "The outgoing government exaggerates when it calls him an agent of Moscow. Andrej Babis is not an ideologue, he is above all a pragmatic businessman who makes decisions based on his interests. Ten years ago, it was profitable for him to play on his friendships with Emmanuel Macron; today, the mood is more Trumpist," points out Lukas Macek, director of the Sciences Po campus in Dijon.

Andrej Babis is not an ideologue like Hungary's Viktor Orban (Alliance of Young Democrats-Civic Union, FIDESZ-MPSZ) or Poland's Jaroslav Kaczynski (Law and Justice, PiS). Formerly liberal, centrist, pro-European and anti-corruption, he is above all a businessman and pragmatic populist, defender of radical right-wing ideas, opposed to all immigration and anti-European. ANO is truly a catch-all party. In recent years, Andrej Babis has become close to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Direction-Social Democracy, SMER-SD). He has stated that he is considering joining forces with those opposed to granting aid to Ukraine and that he is prepared to abandon his country's defence commitments to NATO. "2% of GDP for defence is enough," he says.

“What worries me more is the vindictiveness," said Lukas Macek. "Andrej Babis is certainly going to try to do some of the things we've seen in Slovakia and Hungary, by seeking, for example, to weaken public broadcasting, but it won't be as easy as that[1]. We have a Senate that is controlled by the outgoing majority and can block any amendment to the Constitution, a strong Constitutional Court and a President of the Republic (Petr Pavel) who is not his ally, unlike during his first term,” (Milos Zeman was then head of state) says political analyst Jiri Pehe, who points out that Andrej Babis’s business interests are too closely linked to the European Union for him to consider breaking with Brussels.

The outgoing government coalition campaigned on charges that Andrej Babis wanted to leave the Western camp and bring the Czech Republic closer to Vladimir Putin's Russia. Outgoing Prime Minister Petr Fiala repeated that these were the most important general elections for the country since the fall of communism in 1989. The head of government warned of the danger posed by an alliance between ANO and parties on the political extremes "that question our membership of the West and bow down to the Kremlin at a time when Europe is facing Russian aggression and a disinformation war, parties that collaborate with Putin's regime and want to hold a referendum on leaving the European Union.” “This is a fundamental risk for the Czech Republic. We reject this path. We stand firmly on the side of democracy, the rule of law and a clear anchorage in the Euro-Atlantic space," the head of government emphasised. This was not enough to prevent Andrej Babis' victory.
"Nothing Andrej Babiš said or did when he was Prime Minister between 2017 and 2021 suggests that he is pro-Russian. He has never shown any economic or ideological affinity with Russia,” said Vit Hlousek, professor of political science at Masaryk University in Brno, adding, “If he becomes prime minister, we can expect a policy of reduced support for Ukraine, but this will not be to please Vladimir Putin. This is purely an opportunistic position on the part of Andrej Babiš.”
“We want to save Europe (...) and we are clearly pro-European and pro-NATO," Andrej Babiš said after his victory.
It should be remembered that the government coalition led by Petr Fiala supported the sanctions against Russia and provided weapons, military equipment and logistical and humanitarian support to Kyiv. Since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Czech Republic has taken in more than 500,000 Ukrainian refugees, 300,000 of whom are still living in the country. However, many Czechs have criticised the authorities for neglecting their own population. “We experienced high inflation after the Covid-19 pandemic, while wages did not rise as quickly, which contributed to a decline in the standard of living for part of the population. The government appeared to be doing nothing to remedy the situation,” said journalist Jan Culik, explaining in part the decline of the parties in the coalition led by the outgoing Prime Minister. “Petr Fiala has not harmed our economic situation, but he has somehow lost the support of the business community. Economic stagnation has also worried voters, as his government has been content to manage the situation rather than promote innovation and major projects,” said Martin Ehl, chief analyst at the business daily Hospodarske Noviny.

Andrej Babis has promised to put the Czechs first. He said he would boost economic growth while reducing aid to Ukraine. Increased wages and pensions, a general reduction in taxes, a reduction in VAT in the catering sector, the abolition of audiovisual licence fees, an increase in parental allowances and social benefits - these are just some of the measures in ANO's programme.

Andrej Babis, 71, was born in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. The son of a diplomat, he lived in France and Switzerland and graduated with a degree in economics from the University of Bratislava. He began his career in international trade, heading the Czechoslovak trade delegation in Morocco for six years. In 1993, he founded Agrofert, which brings together companies in the agri-food, chemical and wood industries. In 2011, he created the Action of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO), a party of which he is still the president. In 2013, he was appointed Minister of Finance in the government led by Social Democrat Bohuslav Sobotka, until his dismissal in May 2017, following the lifting of his general immunity by the Chamber of Deputies. He is suspected, along with Jaroslav Faltynek, vice-president of ANO and former member of Agrofert's management, of having, in 2009, removing his conference and holiday centre located south-east of Prague, called The Stork's Nest (hnízdo capu), from the conglomerate he owned so that it could benefit from a European subsidy of 50 million crowns (€1.85 million) intended for small and medium-sized tourism businesses.

Andrej Babiš won the general elections on 20 and 21 October 2017 and was appointed Prime Minister. His ANO party came out ahead in the general elections on 8 and 9 October 2021 but failed to form a majority government. Two years later, he stood as a candidate in the presidential election on 13-14 and 27-28 January 2023 but was defeated in the second round by Petr Pavel (independent), who won 58.33% of the vote (41.67% for Andrej Babis). Nearly three years later, he has made a triumphant comeback and will do everything in his power to regain control of the government.

However, Andrej Babiš is awaiting a new trial since his acquittal in the so-called Stork's Nest case of fraud involving European Union funds was overturned on 23 June by the Court of Appeal (the court had acquitted the former Prime Minister in the first instance in February 2024). This annulment has paved the way for a new trial before the Prague Municipal Court. This could prompt President Petr Pavel to entrust another member of ANO with the task of forming the next government.

‘I don't expect any fundamental change if Andrej Babiš wins. He is a pragmatic businessman and the only thing that matters to him is regaining power,’ said Josef Mlejnek, professor of political science at Charles University in Prague. Let's hope that the facts prove him right.