Politics

Communists Stage a Comeback in the Czech Republic

  • Czech Communists gain significance for first time since 1989
  • Leader says in interview party is influencing social policy
Vojtech Filip

Photographer: Michal Cizek/AFP via Getty Images

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Europe’s political order may have been upset by the new wave of nationalism, but in the Czech Republic the old guard is making a comeback.

As populist forces disrupt traditional party order from Italy to now Sweden, Czech anti-establishment billionaire Andrej Babis needed the support of the communists to win a confidence vote in July. That gave them the biggest influence on power since the collapse of regimes across Eastern Europe in 1989.