Controversial crypto donation changes Czech political attitudes

The political upheaval surrounding a Czech minister’s unwise decision to accept a $45 million Bitcoin donation from a drug dealer is set to cement the opposition’s lead in the run-up to the parliamentary elections in October.

While the government survived a no-confidence vote, the affair is hurting support for the ruling coalition, the latest polling data indicated. The main opposition party, which initiated the motion, is heading towards victory, backed by almost a third of the Czechs.

Controversial crypto donation changes Czech political attitudes

ANO, the right-wing populist party of businessman and former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, is on its way to winning the upcoming election for members of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house parliament in the Czech Republic.

According to a new survey conducted by the STEM research institute for CNN Prima News, ANO (“Yes”) is going to be the leading political party this fall, with more than 31% of the vote, the Czech TV channel reported.

Its role as the main opposition force remains unchallenged thanks to a wide voter base, the authors noted. Babiš’s party enjoys significant support among less educated and older people, but it doesn’t lag behind in any other group, the authors noted, adding:

“The movement is unthreatened in its position as the leader of opposition voices.”

The Spolu (“Together”) center-right coalition, led by the current head of government, Petr Fiala, and his Civic Democratic Party (ODS), comes in second with a little over 20%. At the start of the month, support for Spolu was actually growing. However, the Bitcoin scandal is clearly affecting its results.

Highlighting that serious factors like this usually take several weeks to fully manifest, STEM commented:

“The question is whether the decline will continue or Spolu will manage to stabilize support.”

The far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), another opposition faction, has in the meantime consolidated support and strengthened its position as the main representative of the protest vote. Like ANO, the party fares well among older middle-aged Czechs and those without high school diploma.

The centrist and liberal “Mayors and Independents” (STAN) party, an ally of the political alliance of ODS, the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) and the liberal-conservative TOP 09 in the ruling majority, has registered a decline like the rest of the coalition. Its support stands at 9.4% compared to nearly 13% earlier this year.

ANO on way to victory despite failed attempt to bring down government

STEM’s poll has been carried out between May 30 and June 17, among 2,074 respondents from across the Czech Republic. If the elections were held in that period, ANO would have secured 78 seats in the 200-member Chamber of Deputies while the Spolu coalition would have received 48.

The party was the main driver behind the push to topple the current government. Earlier this week, the Fiala cabinet survived a no-confidence vote in parliament, with all parties in it largely supporting the executive power.

The whole saga revolved around revelations that the Ministry of Justice had accepted 1 billion koruna ($45 million) in Bitcoin from Tomáš Jiřikovský, the operator of a darknet market convicted of drug trafficking, embezzlement, and illegal possession of arms.

Justice Minister Pavel Blažek stepped down from his post to take political responsibility. But the Czech opposition also demanded that the prime minister do the same. ANO said it will continue to push for the resignation of Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura as well, accusing him of failing to notify relevant authorities about the suspicious crypto donation.

Other parties included in the STEM survey that may or may not enter the next Chamber of Deputies include the liberal progressive Czech Pirate Party (Pirates) with 7.2%, the leftist Stačilo! (Enough!) with 5.4%, and the anti-green Motoristé sobě (Motorists for Themselves) party with 4.4%.

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