Czech Billionaire’s Comeback Is a Boon to EU Populist Right

Billionaire Andrej Babis set about forging a new Czech government hours after scoring his best-ever election victory, with his return to power poised to bolster the ascendant ranks of populist leaders in the European Union.

President Petr Pavel said Monday that talks would move forward on the basis that Babis had laid out. The billionaire announced he’d seek to govern with the support of a far-right group that’s called for the Czech Republic to abandon the EU and a populist party whose leaders have attacked the bloc’s climate agenda.