The Ano movement, led by the billionaire deputy premier, makes its debut in foreign policy adopting a line of staunch Atlanticism. The boomerang effect of the recent American tour
After more than a year of government and an unclear attitude in foreign policy and almost always silent on Ukrainian events, Ano – the political movement led by billionaire and vice-premier Andrej Babiš – has recently started paying greater attention to the Czech Republic’s international relations.
It has done so by taking up a policy of staunch Atlanticism, with criticism towards President Miloš Zeman and his sympathy for the Kremlin, without failing to uphold the figure of Václav Havel, who in the Western world – especially in the United States – still represents a timeless icon of democracy and the custodian of human rights.
The reasons that have led Ano to take up a role in foreign policy are manifold. The first and most important is rather obvious: as a political and government force – that has been leading the opinion polls for months, with the ambition to take on as soon as possible the leadership of the country – it cannot afford to remain indifferent to what is happening outside its national borders.
On the one hand, it is a well known fact that foreign policy is not a topic of particular interest to Czech voters, but on the other hand, it is also true that when voters go to the polls, they are not entirely indifferent to what is happening around the world, especially after the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. And according to the polls, the most sensitive voters come from the centre-right, which is surely quite appealing to the magnate/politician.
Quite a different matter is the pro-Atlantic choice of Babiš, an orientation that few of us expected, in consideration of his past experience as a man of the communist regime apparatus and probable former collaborator of the StB secret police before 1989. But even if we leave aside the shadows of a distant past, Babiš has also recently, until the end of last year, distinguished himself for being rather indifferent towards foreign policy. In particular, on the Ukraine conflict, his first significant comment goes back to last September when – referring to Western sanctions against Moscow – he exclaimed: “These measures are foolish and their only effect is that of removing jobs from the Czech Republic”. He added: “First, we should ask ourselves what really happened in Ukraine and the real role played by the media in spreading misinformation”.
According to a few observers, Ano’s surprising Atlantic policy change was brought about by the privileged relationship established for some time now between Babiš and the US Ambassador Andrew Schapiro. The relationship began in late January, with the visit of the American Ambassador at Čapí hnízdo, the Stork’s nest, a luxury resort surrounded by nature, owned by Babiš, about 50 km south of Prague. The following day, the news of Schapiro as guest of the tycoon of Slovak origin, was reported on Lidové noviny, the daily newspaper that is part of Babiš’s publishing empire. The article was fatally accompanied by an analysis on the need for Ano to pay closer attention to foreign policy.
The dice was cast, and ever since, the Ano leader has shown that he no longer considers this theme as the exclusive competence of the Social Democratic partners of the government and implies that he probably wishes to have more say in the management of the Černín Palace, the headquarters of the Foreign Ministry, and in choosing the new ambassadors.
The task of dealing firsthand with this issue has been given to a personality who has all the necessary qualifications, Pavel Telička, the Ano Euro MP, with a diplomatic background as EU commissioner and even as a lobbyist in Brussels. It is Telička himself who pointed out to the press that the Czech Republic from now on must adopt a pro-active foreign policy, that is less static and with greater participation to the activities of international organizations. He particularly asks that in key places – such as the capital cities of Washington, London and Berlin – our Country should have truly outstanding people: “diplomats that are able to be considered as true partners by the leaders of the host countries, a fact that has not always been achieved in the past”.
The time is ripe for the US tour in mid-April by Babiš, a six-day trip, characterized by a full and prestigious calendar of meetings that Schapiro is said to have contributed significantly in defining. In the US the Czech vice premier was seen with Jason Furman, chief economic adviser to Barack Obama, the billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, the Nobel winner Joseph Stiglitz and the former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, as well as the representatives of American companies present in the Czech Republic and potential investors, particularly from the Silicon Valley.
A trip organized, on the one hand, with the intent of gaining recognition as a true democrat and loyal friend of the United States in Centre East Europe, and on the other hand – it is superfluous to say – to show off to Czech public opinion the amount of esteem that he enjoys overseas.
The American trip, however, was also the cause of a problem that had negative repercussions on the image of the tycoon and Czech politician. Babiš in fact, just after landing on American soil, came across a copy of Foreign Policy, the authoritative magazine dedicated to international relations, that described him as a middle course between a Russian oligarch and the former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and even qualifying him as “Babisconi”.
It was certainly not a very complimentary article, which also highlighted how “the political rise in Prague of a powerful businessman, risks undermining the democratic institutions in the heart of Europe”, and did not fail to report on all the problematic aspects of this personage, starting from his past experience in the pre 1989 regime, emphasizing the grey areas of his entrepreneurial success, as well as the conflict of interest after assuming responsibility for government.
The article angered the Czech prime minister – “Whoever made these allegations has to know that in the United States I can easily find a number of lawyers who are able to obtain a full apology for these statements” – which has called into question the honesty of Foreign Policy magazine, accusing it of writing on commission, “surely after the prompting received from my political opponents in the Czech Republic”.
Words that, as far as we know, have not in the least perturbed the editorial staff of Foreign Policy and that, in all probability, will have no consequences.
by Giovanni Usai