Andrej Babis will announce how he’ll rearrange his business holdings before becoming Czech prime minister, addressing conflict of interest concerns.
PRAGUE: Czech populist ANO party leader Andrej Babis said he will announce how he will rearrange his business holdings just before being appointed as prime minister.
This move aims to clear objections by President Petr Pavel, who demanded clarity on Babis’s business arrangements before appointing him.
ANO won the October 3-4 parliamentary election and is forming a government with two fringe right-wing parties, including the far-right, anti-EU SPD.
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Babis, an ally of Hungary’s Viktor Orban and far-right parties in the European Parliament, has pledged to keep the country firmly in the European Union and NATO.
However, he has flagged opposition to EU climate and migration policies.
Babis is a billionaire owner of hundreds of companies around central Europe ranging from farming to chemicals or healthcare.
Many of these companies receive national and EU subsidies and public contracts, creating potential conflicts of interest under Czech law.
“If the president wishes so, then I will say it publicly,” Babis told Czech media.
“I think the course of action should be that I reveal the solution immediately before (the president) appoints me.”
Babis has said he will not sell his main holding Agrofert but will meet Czech and EU requirements.
He previously served as prime minister from 2017-21, during which his conflicts of interest were a constant concern.
A Czech court and the European Commission eventually ruled his previous solution – placing his firms in trust funds – was insufficient.
Anti-corruption activists and legal experts say the clean options would be selling his firms, not being in government, or giving up all subsidies and public contracts. – Reuters
