The ANO party cruised to an emphatic victory in parliamentary elections held across the Czech Republic. This was largely anticipated, however the nearly 30 percent showing was somewhat stronger expected. On the other hand, ANO’s governing coalition partner, the Social Democrats (CSSD) nearly disintegrated and will occupy just 15 parliamentary seats in the new parliament (compared with ANO’s 78). The best-performing ‘traditional’ party, the conservative ODS, only managed to pick up 25 seats with around 11 percent of the vote. The surprise of these polls turned out to be the Pirate party, which also produced a double-digit result (10% of the vote) and 22 seats. However, a new right-wing, anti-immigration/EU party (SPD) did equally well and will also take 22 seats in the parliament.
