Disaster for EU as 'Trumpist' politician wins election in major European country

The right-wing populist and Eurosceptic ANO party has won a decisive victory in the Czech elections, in a major blow for Brussels. The party - headed by the billionaire Andrej Babis - secured the largest share of votes (35.4%) in the parliamentary elections on Saturday.

The ruling centre-right alliance Spolu gained just 22.7% of the vote, while the far-right party Freedom and Direct Democracy along with a new group called Motorists For Themselves cleared the 5% threshold to enter parliament. ANO's victory represents a stunning victory for Babis, who has been dubbed as the "Czech Trump". The 71-year-old Czech entrepreneur served as prime minister between 2017 and 2021, before his party was kicked out of power.

He has criticised the EU's support of Ukraine, and during the campaign he vowed to stop arms shipment to Ukraine.

The billionaire has also been highly critical of the EU's Green Deal and migration policies. He is seen as a close ally of Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban, also an arch Eurosceptic.

In the European Parliament, ANO is a member of the Patriots for Europe (PfE) block, a radical right-wing group that also includes Orban's Fidesz party, as well as Matteo Salvini's Lega and Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National.

Babis said he hopes to form a coalition with both the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and Motorists for Themselves parties to build a "one-colour government"

In a statement, he said: "We will certainly negotiate with the SPD and Motorists and strive for a single-colour government led by the ANO movement."

ANO shares the Motorists' misgivings about the EU's emissions targets, and vows to modify or reject them outright.

Both parties are firmly against Czech households carrying a greater financial burden for cleaner energy, and both oppose the EU's ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars after 2035.

The issues of cost of living, inflation and energy prices dominated the electoral campaign.

Babis promised to lower taxes and energy prices during his campaign - a pledge that appears to have resonated with voters.