Czech bishops welcome election results as anti-church coalition fails to enter Parliament

Rome, Italy, Oct 7, 2025 / 09:47 am (CNA).

Czech Catholic bishops welcomed the results of the parliamentary elections on Oct. 3–4, which saw a populist party win the most votes but fall short of a majority, while a far-left coalition that bishops had warned had an explicitly anti-church platform failed to enter Parliament.

The ANO 2011 party, led by billionaire former pime minister Andrej Babiš, won 35% of the vote, while the Stačilo! coalition, led by communists and proposing restrictions on religious freedom, received only 4.3%, below the 5% threshold needed to enter the Chamber of Deputies.

Archbishop Josef Nuzík of Olomouc, chairman of the Czech Bishops’ Conference, issued a statement congratulating Babiš and pledging to “pray for the newly elected legislators” so that “we can live in peace, mutual respect, and together strive for the well-being of our home.”

“I wish that our new parliamentary representatives would be able to build bridges, be sensitive to the weak and needy, honestly seek the truth, strive for understanding in society, and be ready to defend the rule of law and a just peace,” Nuzík stated.

The archbishop thanked citizens who participated in the elections and “showed interest in our common future.”

Bishops assess outcome

Bishop Pavel Konzbul of the Diocese of Brno told CNA that “the Czechs have rejected extremist parties, although both the far left and the far right had a strong campaign.”

“This is good news,” Konzbul said.

The bishop noted that a “slightly different course in foreign policy is to be expected, namely toward Ukraine and the EU.”

He said he is “curious to see how many of the numerous promises” the new government likely to be formed by ANO 2011 “will be able to fulfill, as promises were made to all groups of the population during the campaign.”

Election results impact relationship with EU

The outgoing government coalition SPOLU, formed by the parties ODS, TOP09, and the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL), received 23% of the vote, finishing second. The STAN party (Mayors and Independents) received 11%.

Other parties entering Parliament include the Czech Pirate Party, the SPD (Freedom and Direct Democracy), and the newcomer Motoristé sobě (Motorists for Themselves).

Turnout was almost 70% of eligible voters in a country of nearly 11 million people.

Stanislav Balík, dean of the faculty of social studies at Masaryk University in Brno and an independent senator, told CNA the results suggest the new government will likely “not be inclined to wider cooperation with Western states” and be “more friendly with Russia and less so toward Ukraine.”

However, the Czech political system “has checks and balances to prevent change from being rapid and absolute like the Senate, president, etc.,” Balík said.

The Czech Parliament consists of two chambers, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Citizens voted for the Chamber of Deputies, which determines the composition of the government. The prime minister is the head of government, who is formed by a majority of political parties that enter the Chamber of Deputies after elections every four years. The president has a more representative function.

Preelection concerns about religious freedom

In the weeks leading up to the election, the Czech Bishops’ Conference issued a prayer novena and specifically warned about the threats to religious freedom posed by the Stačilo! coalition.

Archbishop Jan Graubner of Prague stated before the vote that he would not support populists, financially irresponsible politicians, or those who do not support Ukraine.

“Responsible people do not go into debt, and if they do, not for unnecessary things,” Graubner said.

He said he could not vote for politicians who want to leave the European Union and NATO, which the Czech Republic is part of, or for those who “spread hatred toward any group of people, (Ukrainians, Jews, people with a different orientation…).”

Graubner said he could not vote for the Stačilo! movement.

Konzbul told CNA that the far-left coalition “had an explicitly anti-church program.” The bishops issued a formal statement warning that the Stačilo! coalition had proposals to limit financing of Christian and private schools and to invalidate marriages celebrated in churches.

“It was for the first time the ČBK clearly named the choice of a specific party, and those who would like to cooperate with it, as evil,” Balík said.

Analysts: No culture wars expected

Roman Joch, a political scientist who served as adviser to former prime minister Petr Nečas, told CNA that regarding religious freedom, “nothing bad happened, nothing got worse, it is very good as far as possible.”

“Andrej Babiš is a pragmatist who does not want to wage cultural wars against Christian civilization,” Joch said. He will not be pro-Russian as he is also a businessman with economic interests in the European Union, and not in Russia, Joch explained. 

“The progressive Czech Pirate Party will be in opposition and have no chance to damage anything,” he added.

Alexander Tomský, a Jewish commentator and promoter of Catholic writer G.K. Chesterton, told CNA that the communists are “primarily concerned with benefits” and “would have little potential” to be invited into government.

The communists “cannot influence religious freedom or harm the Catholic Church either,” Tomský said.

He considers communism “a dead ideology” and thinks its representatives “will not enter the Chamber of Deputies again.”

For many years, the Communist Party of the Czech Lands and Moravia (KSČM) was present in Parliament but ran this election within the Stačilo coalition headed by Kateřina Konečná, a member of the European Parliament for KSČM.