ODS Leader Kupka Accuses Babiš Government of "Predatory Carving-Up of the State"

ODS chairman Martin Kupka has sharply criticised the current government, which relies on a majority of 108 deputies, saying the cabinet "hands out posts to cronies even when they lack the necessary qualifications," and that decisions are being made on the basis of party membership, loyalty and money.

"We are witnessing a predatory carving-up of the state," Kupka wrote in a piece for Lidovky.cz, commenting on the government's recent passage of the new building act and the so-called EET 2.0.

The opposition leader accused the ruling three-party coalition of piling up state debt while paying insufficient attention to the country's security, and of creating a "caste of the untouchable." Addressing Prime Minister Andrej Babiš directly, he said: "Andrej Babiš is turning Czechia into his own Babišistán." The real danger, he argued, is that society will grow accustomed to "Babišistán" — that is, to lying as a style of governance, conflicts of interest as the norm, and arbitrary rule as an everyday part of politics. "This is something we must not get used to," he stressed.

Kupka also outlined the opposition's plans for the 2029 election, saying the party intends not only to present a well-thought-out programme but also to seek revenge at the ballot box. Taking a cue from Hungary's new prime minister, Péter Magyar, who is fighting the legacy of Orbanism, the ODS leader pledged: "Those who organised the circumvention of laws and the siphoning-off of state funds will be held accountable, as will those at the ministries who knowingly helped them do it. And we will recover every crown that the state unlawfully pays out to Agrofert at the expense of Czech taxpayers."

Meanwhile, the current government is taking a more cautious approach to pension reform. At Monday's cabinet meeting, ministers approved neither a cap on the retirement age at 65 nor a return to higher pension indexation — half the growth in real wages instead of the current one-third. Labour and Social Affairs Minister Aleš Juchelka said the government would revisit the issue when reviewing the conditions for early retirement.

After the summer break, the campaign ahead of the municipal and Senate elections will kick into full gear, and ODS will need to define its ambitions — including in districts where the party is competing against candidates from its former coalition partners.

Source: denik.cz