(REUTERS): To his supporters Czech Finance Minister Andrej Babis is an efficient, plain-speaking operator who gets the job done, while to his critics he represents the murky power of big business and poses a threat to democracy.
The Czech Republic’s second richest man, Babis elicits strong and contrasting reactions among Czechs, but most would agree that the billionaire businessman is now closer than ever to becoming prime minister following a political crisis triggered by his own government’s efforts to sideline him.
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka announced on Tuesday the government would resign, less than six months before its term ends, to resolve a long-running dispute over the past financial dealings of Babis, his arch-rival.
Babis, whose centrist ANO movement is far ahead of Sobotka’s Social Democrats and other parties in opinion polls, described the move as “a desperate step by a desperate person”.
Although ANO and Babis have been part of Sobotka’s center-left coalition since 2013, the Slovak-born businessman has managed to cast himself as an anti-graft crusader battling a remote, self-serving political establishment in Prague.
His message, which echoes that of populist parties across Europe, appeals to Czechs disillusioned with the murky backroom dealings of traditional parties. Opinion polls give ANO – which means Yes in Czech and is also an abbreviation for “Action by Dissatisfied Citizens” – around 30 percent, some 10-15 points more than the Social Democrats.