Babiš personally campaigns for ANO's Czech Senate candidates

Czech Prime Minister and ANO leader Andrej Babiš has admitted that he trusts no one but himself "in the mirror each morning." The remark came last week in the South Moravian town of Bučovice, where the prime minister travelled together with Finance Minister Alena Schillerová to campaign for the party's candidate in the upcoming Senate elections.

Two races that matter more than the rest

According to Babiš, this year's Senate campaign essentially comes down to two key contests for ANO — against South Moravian governor Jan Grolich and Liberec Region governor Martin Půta. "For us, these elections are two fights against a corrupt, dishonest system, and that means Grolich and Půta," the prime minister said.

Both governors represent opposition parties and enjoy strong popularity in their regions, which is why ANO fears a Senate seat could serve as their springboard into national politics. To prevent that, Babiš is personally campaigning for their rivals — two candidates from his own party.

A nurse against the governor

The prime minister appears most often in the Vyškov district, the site of what is arguably this year's most closely watched electoral battle. Top government and ANO figures are helping nurse Petra Absolonová in her campaign against South Moravian governor and Christian Democrat leader Jan Grolich, whom part of the opposition sees as a potential new political leader.

The second contest that matters to Babiš is unfolding in the Česká Lípa district, where the mayor of the town and ANO member of parliament Jitka Wolfová is running against Liberec Region governor Martin Půta of the Mayors and Independents (STAN) movement. Both politicians enjoy solid support among voters in their areas.

"She's a pure soul"

What this kind of campaigning looks like in practice was on display at meetings with voters in Bučovice and Rousínov in southern Moravia, where Babiš himself and Finance Minister Alena Schillerová came to support Absolonová. The script on the town squares repeated itself each time: first, talk of how the government is giving hospitals large sums of money; then criticism of Grolich, who supposedly already holds too many posts and would have no time left for the region as a senator; and finally, praise for Absolonová, a senior nurse at the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute in Brno.

"We're here today because of Petra, this remarkable person whom the prime minister and I have known personally for several years," Schillerová said. "Petra is a very kind person, a real angel. And in the Senate, my friends, we have no one to speak for such angels, even though they're very important."

Babiš carried on in the same vein: "Petra is a pure, naive soul, and that's not the best preparation for politics — I was the same way at first myself. She wanted to run, and I tried to talk her out of it. In the Senate, Petra will stay a pure soul — unlike Wildumetzová, who cuts everyone down there from morning till night," the prime minister added with a laugh.

The look on Absolonová's face, standing beside him, made it clear she wasn't sure whether that was a compliment or a criticism. "But actually, when I go to help people, I can be tough too…" the 48-year-old nurse remarked.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz