Page 48 - bneMag February 2021_20210202

48 I Central Europe bne February 2021
perceived mishandling of the crisis. Together with STAN, opinion polls show they could surpass 25%, around the level that ANO has been polling.
The Pirates are not the only political coalition that Babis and his ANO party will have to deal with in the autumn elections. The three centre-right parties, the Civic Democrats, Christian Democrats and TOP 09, have also created a coalition to increase their chances of ousting Babis. According to the latest polls, they would obtain 20% of the votes. The three parties have more in common than the Pirates-STAN combination, but they have stressed that they will operate separately after the election, and the ODS is seen as
a potential partner for ANO, having
recently split ranks to vote for ANO's 2021 budget.
Rakusan confirmed that the second coalition is a suitable partner for post- election cooperation. “We may have differences, but we have tested the cooperation during the coronavirus crisis. If both groups say that they want to bring about a qualitative change in policy – content and form – then they should be natural coalition partners,” he added. Taken together, the two coalitions would be difficult to beat –
if they stay together.
The third coalition that has also been discussed recently is cooperation between the current junior government party the Social Democrats with
the Green party and trade union representatives.
“For me, this is a bit of a sad chapter
of the election year that's ahead of us.
I still remember the Social Democrats as the driving force of the Czech political scene – if not a victorious force, then at least relevant and very fundamental. We are now watching a little desperate, last minute attempts and efforts to
find a way to save at least 5 percent
in the next parliamentary election,” Bastlova added.
According to opinion polling carried out at the end of 2020, the Social Democrats would barely cross the 5% electoral threshold for the first time in the country's independent history.
Poland and Hungary lift their blockade of EU budget and coronavirus recovery fund
bne IntelliNews
Leaders of EU member states brokered a deal on the €1.8 trillion budget and COVID-19 recovery fund during a summit on December 10 after Poland and Hungary backed down from their opposition to tying the funds to respecting the rule of law.
Poland and Hungary said they would veto the €1.1 trillion budget and the €750bn recovery fund if access to money was made conditional on the rule of
law, undermining which has landed both countries under the scrutiny of the European Commission.
The rule of law clause did remain in the conclusions of the summit but was tweaked to remove Polish and Hungarian objections that it would become a tool of political pressure rather than a mechanism of legal safeguarding.
Linking the rule of law to funds will be governed by an objective process and
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limited only to the proper use of the bloc’s money. Poland and Hungary will also be entitled to review the mechanism in court to make sure it is in line with EU treaties.
Governments in both countries have long been at odds with the rest of the bloc for attacks on their judiciaries and undermining the independence of the media.
Vetoing the budget and the recovery fund would, however, result in Poland and Hungary losing billions in EU funding in the next seven years, a period spiked with difficulties of emerging from the coronavirus pandemic and implementing bold EU-wide reforms, such as the transition to a low-carbon economy.
The agreement was reached a few hours into a summit meeting in Brussels, and was announced by the President of the European Council Charles Michel.
"Now we can start with the implemen- tation and build back our economies," Michel said, adding that “our landmark recovery package will drive forward our green and digital transitions.”
After reaching the compromise, Poland’s tripartite coalition government is in for more tension.
United Poland, one of the parties in the coalition led by Law and Justice (PiS), reiterated on December 10 that linking the budget with the rule of law strips Poland of its sovereignty and must not be accepted. “We will meet to discuss the effects of the decision made by
the [EU] summit,” the party – which threatened to leave the government
if the rule of law mechanism stayed – said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban presented the deal as
a victory, saying that reason triumphed and Hungarian money was defended.