Parties of the right romp in Czech election | Eastern North Carolina Now

The new Czech parliament will see 3 parties on the right side of the spectrum hold 163 of its 200 seats, while the Communists and Social Democrats lost all of their seats.  The Communists ran the country for four decades after 1948 and have had significant representation in parliament until now. The Social Democrats have been the largest party of the center left since the fall of communism, and just two elections ago finished first as the country's largest party and led the governing coalition.  Now both major parties of the left are completely gone from parliament.

The populist nationalist ANO party of Prime Minister Babis, who is often called "the Czech Trump" finished first with 72 seats, closely followed by a coalition of traditional conservative parties led by the Civic Democrats with 71 seats. The Civic Democrats have alternated with the Social Democrats in holding the prime minister's job until Babis won the position after the last election.  Another populist nationalist party, running in only its second election, Freedom and Direct Democracy, which advocates a referendum to leave the EU and banning Islam in the Czech Republic won 20 seats.  One of the leading figures in the Civic Democrats has been Dr. Vaclav Klaus, who has served both as the country's president and prime minister, and who is a very vocal opponent of climate alarmism, which he has denounced as "a budding totalitarian ideology that is the greatest threat to freedom, democracy, and prosperity in the world today."

A total of nine parties or coalitions ran candidates with only four winning seats.  The Green Party was among those failing to win any seats.  Also failing to win seats was the Czech Crown Party which advocates restoration of the monarchy, which had hoped to capitalize on polling showing growing support among young voters to turn the country into a constitutional monarchy under the Habsburgs, who had ruled what is now the Czech Republic as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918.  On the left only the comic opera Pirate Party, which campaigns with a skull and crossbones flag, won any seats.