In Czech Election, a New Threat to European Unity

Whether a wealthy oligarch with vast financial interests would prove as illiberal as Viktor Orban, Hungary’s populist prime minister, and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Poland’s governing right-wing party, remains uncertain in a country as secular and Western-oriented as the Czech Republic. But Mr. Babis has suggested abolishing the Czech Senate and trimming the lower house of Parliament, moves that would strengthen the executive branch. Following a pattern that has become familiar in European elections, the Czech vote pits longstanding mainstream parties in decline against anti-establishment upstarts from all corners of the political spectrum. -- More...