Andrej Babiš, the presidential candidate and chairman of the ANO movement, met with both supporters and opponents. The event was held at the Pošta Hotel, where about 20 people gathered outside with banners displaying slogans such as “Benešov is not Babišov” or “We don’t want liars and estebák in the Castle”. Opponents were also present inside the hall, where they responded to some of Babiš’s statements with shouts or whistles. However, Babiš’s supporters significantly outnumbered the opponents and greeted the ANO leader with thunderous applause and chants of “Babiš! Babiš!”. The event lasted for about an hour and a half, after which Babiš signed autographs for a long time.

Babiš devoted a large portion of his opening speech to his opponent Petar Pavlov. He repeated that he is the candidate of the government, while he is the only candidate for the presidency who seeks peace. Not everyone in the audience agreed with that, “That’s not true,” said the audience. Another participant was angry when Babiš declared that as prime minister he fought for Czech interests. “For your interests!” shouted a man in the audience.

The majority of those present reacted favorably to Babiš’s words. The head of ANO received thunderous applause when he spoke about the war in Ukraine and his plan to hold a peace summit in Prague. Babiš also made statements regarding Pavel’s position on government proposals to increase taxes, fare discounts, an increase in television and radio fees and a majority vote in the EU.

The vice-chairman of the movement, Karel Havlíček, also participated in the discussion, and stated that the president should be at least partly an opponent of the government, and not just nod servilely. The audience included seniors, middle-aged people, and students. A small treat was prepared for each seated participant.

Actress Jaroslava Obermaierová and doctor Jaroslav Barták also came to express their support for Babiš. Barták was recently acquitted by the Regional Court in Liberec of planning three murders and extortion, but Babiš did not give him a chance to ask a question.

While Babiš met with voters in the Central Bohemia region, where his opponent Petr Pavel defeated him in the 1st round of the presidential election, Pavel went to Ostrava, where Babiš was more successful in the 1st round.

Article by Prague Forum