Czech Prime Minister Courts Communists in Pre-Election Gamble

by Dramelin 6:00 AM 0 comments

The prime minister signaled a possible break from Czech mainstream parties? tradition since the fall of the Iron Curtain of keeping the third-placed Communists out of central government. Czech Premier Bohuslav Sobotka said his Social Democrats could create a ruling coalition with the opposition Communists to prevent billionaire Finance Minister Andrej Babis from taking power after fall elections. Trailing in opinion polls behind the finance minister?s ANO PARTY, the Social Democrats are vying to win over leftist voters also targeted by Babis, the second-richest Czech. Sobotka said his party has already held a number of functioning coalitions with the Communists in regional administrations, Hospodarske Noviny reported on Friday. Babis has said he has broken no law and wants to reinstate taxation on investment returns that are now exempt.