In the Czech Republic, the names of the two men vying for the succession of Milos Zeman are now confirmed. Retired General Petr Pavel and ex-Prime Minister Andrej Babis came out on top in the first round of the presidential election, according to results released on Saturday January 14 in the evening. At the end of the first round, which took place on Friday January 13 and Saturday January 14, Mr. Pavel obtained 35.4% of the votes, just ahead of Mr. Babis, who collected 35%, according to the Czech Statistical Office .
Economist Danuse Nerudova came third, with 13.9% of the vote, while none of the five other contenders got more than 7%. Arrived neck and neck in this first round, Mr. Pavel and Mr. Babis will face each other on January 27 and 28 in a duel that promises to be uncertain.
Petr Pavel, retired general and former chief of staff
The former military paratrooper Petr Pavel, 61, who is ahead of Mr. Babis by a short head at the end of this first round, has made himself known in a completely different field than politics. The general is known to the general public for having rescued French soldiers besieged by the Serbs during the war in Bosnia in 1993. Former chief of staff and former chairman of the military committee of the United Nations Treaty North Atlantic (NATO), he is now retired.
Voting in his native village of Cernoucek, north of Prague, Mr Pavel said on January 13 that the main aim of his candidacy was to restore the dignity of the presidential office after Mr Zeman’s ten years in office. . “We should also establish normal communication and try to achieve results not through confrontation but through cooperation”he added.
On Saturday, when television footage showed him narrowly ahead of Mr Babis just before the end of the vote count, Mr Pavel greeted his assembled team in the historic center of Prague to loud cheers. “I am very happy, everyone can see it”said this usually serious man, sketching a small smile.
“I think I would smile a lot more if the difference was, say, 10 points, but that margin is so slim that I now see the hard work for the second round rather than a reason to celebrate”he added, however.
Andrej Babis, the return of the populist billionaire
Business tycoon Andrej Babis, 68, is known for his populist positions and decisions since his time as head of government. According to the magazine Forbes, who made his fortune in the field of agribusiness is the fifth richest person in the Czech Republic. Prime Minister from 2017 to 2021, he resigned in October 2021 after his defeat in the legislative elections.
The billionaire is an extremely controversial figure. On January 9, he was acquitted at first instance in Prague on charges of tax evasion after his questionable use of EU funds. It was finally after having crisscrossed the country in the summer of 2022 to try to restore his image that he announced – late – his candidacy for the presidential election.
On Saturday evening, after the results were announced, Mr Babis, who was in Prague at a restaurant at the headquarters of his sprawling food, media and chemicals holding company Agrofert, kicked things off of his second-round campaign. While congratulating Mr. Pavel on his narrow victory in the first round, he assured that the latter had “lied during the debates” et “did nothing for our country”.
Mr Babis also said he feared a smear campaign by “journalists allied to Pavel” and compared the general – who once considered a career in military intelligence – to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB secret service agent.
Bringing down record inflation
In view of the results obtained by the two men, the second round promises to be tight and potentially full of surprises. Before the first round, polls suggested that in the event of a duel between Mr. Pavel and Mr. Babis, the former, aided by his lack of experience at the head of state, could win.
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Whoever wins this election will face record inflation (15.8%) and exorbitant public finance deficits due to the war in Ukraine.
The role of the Czech president is essentially ceremonial, but the head of state appoints the government, chooses the governor of the central bank and the constitutional judges. He also serves as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
Since 2013, Mr Zeman, who once confessed to drinking six glasses of wine and three of hard liquor daily, has repeatedly exploited loopholes in the Constitution to increase his influence.