The Briefing Room
General Category => World News => Topic started by: TomSea on October 22, 2017, 01:50:31 am
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'Czech Trump' clinches election victory, eurosceptics boosted
Jan FLEMR and Jan MARCHAL
Prague (AFP) - With voters upset over traditional parties and orders from Brussels, billionaire populist Andrej Babis, dubbed the "Czech Trump", clinched victory in the Czech Republic's election on Saturday, while eurosceptics and an anti-Islam group backed by France's National Front made strong gains.
State election officials citing results from 99.9 percent of polling stations said Babis's anti-corruption and anti-euro ANO (Yes) movement won with 29.7 percent support (78 parliament seats) followed by the eurosceptic right-wing ODS party on 11.3 percent (25 seats). Turnout was at 60 percent.
Despite the country's economic success, analysts say many Czechs who are heavily in debt or working long hours for low wages feel they have been left behind and are turning to populist, eurosceptic and far-right anti-EU parties to vent their ire.
Read more at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/czech-trump-poised-win-vote-promises-stage-023419411.html
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A 63-year-old Slovak-born chemicals, food and media tycoon, Babis has vowed to steer clear of the eurozone and echoes other eastern EU leaders who accuse Brussels of attempting to limit national sovereignty by imposing rules like migrant quotas. He favours a united Europe and balks at talk of a "Czexit".
Want to bet this aspect has been downplayed in the media? Muslim 'migrants' have been a growing cause of discontent among the natives.