Defeat of former PM Andrej Babiš hailed as victory for liberal democracy over oligarchic populism
Petr Pavel, a retired general and former senior Nato commander, has swept to the Czech presidency with a landslide election victory over the former prime minister Andrej Babiš in what supporters immediately hailed as a victory for liberal democracy over oligarchic populism.
The outcome represents a personal vindication for the pro-western Pavel and a humiliating rebuff for Babiš, a billionaire oligarch who had waged a ruthless, scorched-earth campaign that focused on portraying his adversary as a warmonger while casting himself as a victim of smears and death threats. As the emphatic nature of his victory was confirmed, Pavel triumphantly addressed jubilant supporters at his campaign headquarters. He was greeted with chants of “president, president”.
Jiří Pehe, a political analyst and the director of New York University in Prague, said Pavel’s election represented a huge change in the nature of Czech leadership.
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