Czech Tycoon, Trailing in Race, Draws Ire Over NATO Comments
- Babis backtracks after saying he wouldn’t send Czech troops
- Former NATO general Pavel leads polls ahead of run-off
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Former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, who is trailing in his bid to win the nation’s presidency this week, drew criticism for saying during a televised debate that he wouldn’t send troops to aid NATO allies.
The billionaire ex-premier, who was voted out of power in 2021 and now leads the largest opposition party, backtracked after saying he wouldn’t deploy Czech soldiers to help neighboring Poland or the Baltic countries if they were attacked. He corrected himself, saying he backed the military alliance’s mutual-defense mechanism.