Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’ governing party ANO has faced its first defeat in opinion polls since the last general elections held in 2017.
According to a Kantar survey published by Czech Television, the Czech Pirate Party (Greens/EFA) took the lead with 22%, while ANO got 20.5%, with Pirates outcome set to be even higher, at 34%, when paired with their ally, the Movement of Mayors and Independents (EPP).
The newly formed centre-right alliance reached 17.5%.
The survey was conducted between the end of February and the start of March, when Babiš’ government imposed tighter COVID-19 restrictions, including the complete closure of schools and a ban on movement between Czech districts.
The popularity of the Czech PM and his party has been dwindling since the beginning of the outbreak in March 2020.
Speaking to Deník N, Kantar analyst Pavel Ranocha said the ANO party is losing voters to the Movement of Mayors and Independents, formed by municipalities’ leaders, who already had success in the October 2019 general elections.
