Members of the far-right Patriots for Europe group are celebrating the victory of populist right-winger Andrej Babiš and his ANO party in the Czech parliamentary elections.
ANO won with over 34 percent of the vote, surpassing the ruling center-right coalition Spolu, which garnered 23 percent.
Babiš is the leading candidate for prime minister after ANO’s strong result. The agricultural tycoon co-founded the Patriots group with Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Austria’s Herbert Kickl in 2024. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally soon joined, making the Patriots the third-largest group in the European Parliament.
Orbán was among the first to congratulate Babiš, calling it a victory for the Czech Republic and good news for Europe.
Italy’s Matteo Salvini said Babiš had “crushed the left” in the vote, also congratulating the right-wing populist party Motorists, part of the Patriots, for entering parliament for the first time.
Salvini stated, “The Patriots are advancing all across Europe! Andrej Babiš, an ally of the League in the EU, crushes the left and prepares to lead a government focused on fighting illegal immigration, opposing war, and halting Brussels’ policies.”
He praised Motoristé sobě for their steady growth.
Le Pen and Jordan Bardella of the far-right National Rally also celebrated ANO’s win, with Le Pen noting that patriotic parties are gaining power to reclaim freedom and prosperity.
Bardella described the victory as favoring free enterprise and opposing uncontrolled immigration.
Others from the Patriots, like Denmark’s Anders Vistisen, the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders, Austria’s Harald Vilimsky, and Hungary’s Kinga Gál, expressed their satisfaction with the outcome.
Few outside the Patriots group commented, but Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya congratulated Babiš, trusting in Czech support for Belarus’s democratic forces.
Kirill Dmitriev, a close adviser to Putin, remarked on Europe awakening, praising the victory as a stand against immigration, war, censorship, and economic decline.
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