MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The victory of the centrist movement ANO in the Czech parliamentary election on Sunday was predictable and was not affected by the success of the right-wing populist parties in recent elections in Germany and Austria, a member of the European Parliament's Confederal Group of the European United Left and Nordic Green Left from the Czech Republic, Jiri Mastalka, told Sputnik on Monday.
According to the lawmaker, under the new government led by ANO chief Andrej Babis, the national policies would likely focus on a more efficient tax policy and tax collection system, which, according to Mastalka, is one of the priorities of Babis.
As for foreign policy, "more Eurosceptic tendencies will prevail," the lawmaker said.
"It is too early to speak about any coalition, the negotiations have just started. Having nine parties in the national assembly is a record, and it is a confirmation of polarization in the political spectrum," Mastalka added.
The Czech Republic held the two-day lower house of Parliament elections on Friday and Saturday, with ANO taking first with 29.64 percent of the votes cast. Czech President Milos Zeman said on Sunday that he was ready to appoint Babis as the country’s prime minister.
German and Austrian Elections
In October, the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) also came third in the Austrian snap legislative election, having won 26.04 percent of the votes cast.
