Babiš and Orbán arrived in northern Bohemia, where the prime minister is running in the elections
Updates: 09/29/2021 15:31
Released: 29.09.2021, 13:30
Ústí nad Labem / Prague – Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (YES) and his Hungarian counterpart arrived in Ústí nad Labem this afternoon. Orbán’s working visit takes place about a week before the Czech parliamentary elections, which will take place on October 8 and 9. In the Ústí nad Labem Region, Babiš leads the election candidate of his YES movement, and after the end of the work program, the two politicians, who maintain good relations and criticize migration to the EU, meet with supporters and members of the movement in the Ústí nad Labem theater. In the evening, President Miloš Zeman will receive Orbán in Lány in the Kladno region.
Babiš describes Orbán, who does not have many allies in the European Union, as his friend. They have similar views on anti-immigration policy, which is one of the topics of the election campaign in the Czech Republic. Last week, Babiš was on a two-day visit to Hungary, where he attended a demographic summit. At that time, the prime ministers jointly criticized the European Union, which, according to them, does not sufficiently protect its borders from illegal migration.
This morning, Babiš received the Prime Minister of Hungary in Kramář’s Villa, where there were about two dozen demonstrators with, among other things, European Union flags. The topic of the policy talks is economic and industrial cooperation, defense, migration and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The gala lunch of the prime ministers was prepared at the Větruše chateau, where the ANO movement launched an election campaign at the beginning of September. At that time, the Prime Minister’s son Andrej Babiš Jr. arrived unexpectedly. Politicians from the city took the cable car to the chateau.
Before Větruší, several people with transparent ones were waiting for the prime minister. “Shame,” they shouted as Orbán and Babiš got off the cable car. They crossed the group and entered the restaurant. They did not stop at the planned joint photo in front of the chateau. “We both gentlemen, who appeal to those still instincts, evoke hatred and fear, we accompany all day,” one of the protest organizers, Otakar van Gemund, who was already in front of Kramář’s villa when Orbán arrived in Prague, told ČTK. “I see the visit to Orbán as a pre-election event and directly as a provocation of the populist-nationalist movement that is rampant here in Europe,” said the activist.
With banners and shouts of “Shame!” Orbán demonstrators also welcomed the North Bohemian Opera and Ballet Theater, where a press conference is being held. Later, the Prime Ministers’ debate will take place there, where YES has invited its supporters. They will be able to take part in the prime ministers’ debate after the end of the work program. An estimated two dozen protesters stand in front of the theater at the time of the press conference. They have transparencies in their hands, which proclaim, for example, “Meeting of dictators” or “The future is Europe and the Euro. No. Grandma!”. According to van Gemund, the demonstrators will stay in front of the theater until the representatives of both countries go out, because according to them, Orbán and Babiš plan to talk to people in the streets. “We want to confront them there,” he added.
In the evening at 19:00 Orbán will be received at the chateau in Lány by President Zeman. According to the director of the Foreign Department of Prague Castle, Rudolf Jindrák, they should talk together, for example, about the current political situation. Which Czechia is waiting for elections next week, they will be held in Hungary in half a year. The one-hour meeting, which is also attended by representatives of the Hungarian and Czech delegations, will also address issues of migration, the situation in Visegrad, which includes Poland and Slovakia in addition to the Czech Republic and Hungary, and the upcoming Czech EU presidency. One of the main Czech priorities will be the issue of integration of the Western Balkans, ie Hungary’s neighbors, into European structures. Zeman and Orbán could also talk about rising energy prices or the construction of a Hungarian nuclear power plant, on which Hungary is cooperating with Russia.