The new Czech government, which consists of populists and far-rightists, has been in power for less than a month. One of the ministerial posts even remains vacant due to a controversial candidacy, and a vote of confidence has not yet been voted on in parliament. But the unfinished cabinet of the right-wing populist - billionaire Andrej Babis - has already managed to cause the first domestic and foreign political scandals. Cracks have already appeared in the stability of the coalition.
The main dispute is about Ukraine and support for the country - a topic that was also decisive for the election campaign in the Czech Republic. Before the elections, all three parties in the current coalition promised that they would stop supporting Ukraine. But the reality in government looks different: the settings of two of the parties - Babis's ANO and "Motorists for Their Own" - are more pragmatic, including due to pressure from European partners. But the pro-Russian far-right party "Freedom and Direct Democracy" continues to hold a hard anti-Ukrainian line.
Many observers in the Czech Republic fear that the country is heading for unstable times in domestic politics, and in foreign policy it may lose its previous good name as a reliable European partner. The newspaper Hospodarske noviny wrote in this regard: "This government can destroy the civilizational belonging of the Czech Republic."
The initiative for ammunition continues
On January 7, Prime Minister Andrej Babis announced that the Czech Republic would continue the so-called ammunition initiative for Ukraine - the program that he promised to end during the election campaign. With it, the Czech Republic coordinates the sale of artillery ammunition worldwide, the financing is mainly provided by some EU countries such as Germany and France, but to some extent also by the Czech Republic itself.
After participating in the European meeting of the "Coalition of the Willing" Babis said that the program would continue, but the Czech Republic would no longer participate in the financing. During the election campaign, the prime minister constantly criticized the initiative as corrupt and opaque.
Sharp anti-Ukrainian speeches
After the reversal, Babis opposed his far-right and pro-Russian coalition partners from "Freedom and Direct Democracy". Their leader Tomio Okamura caused the first major scandal after the change of government in the Czech Republic a few days ago. Okamura, who is of Czech-Japanese origin, has been the head of the Lower House of the Czech Parliament since the beginning of November 2025. In this capacity, he delivered a New Year's speech on January 1, which was a sharp anti-Ukrainian and anti-European tirade.
Okamura spoke about the "thieves from the Zelensky junta" who, with the help of Western governments, would build "golden toilets". They should not have supported a "completely senseless war" "at the expense of Czech pensioners, people with disabilities and families with children". The Czech Republic would get off the "Brussels train", which was headed for World War III. In other words: the country would leave the EU.
"Useful idiot or agent of the Russian secret services?"
The speech caused shockwaves and indignation among Czech politicians. President Petr Pavel wrote on the X platform that Okamura's statements would cause concern "not only among our citizens, but also among our allies and partners abroad." Former Prime Minister Petr Fiala also wrote on the X platform that the speech sounded as if it had been prepared in the Kremlin.
Ukraine also strongly condemned the statements. Ambassador to Prague Vasyl Svaric called Okamura's words "offensive and full of hatred," and Okamura's colleague, the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, commented that "it needs to be established whether Okamura is a useful idiot or an agent of the Russian secret services."
Diplomatic tension between Ukraine and the Czech Republic
The Ukrainian reactions in turn provoked a protest from Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka, who is the chairman of the Motorists' Party. He described Ambassador Svaric's words as "inappropriate". However, in the end, de-escalation was achieved - after Macinka's conversation with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Szybiga and the invitation of the Czech Foreign Minister to visit Kiev.
Andrzej Babis waited five days with his reaction after Okamura's speech. It was not until Monday that the Prime Minister wrote on Instagram: "Regarding the much-discussed speech by Tomio Okamura, I think that he spoke from his position as party chairman and wanted to address his voters."
Okamura's Another Provocation
This is not the only scandal provoked recently by Okamura and his party. The chairman of "Freedom and Direct Democracy" immediately after coming to power ordered the removal of the Ukrainian flag from the Czech parliament building, where it had been raised in 2022 as a sign of solidarity. Another drama was caused by a deputy from Okamura's party, who disputed the Russian lead in the attack on the Czech ammunition depot "Vrbetice" in 2014. Then, two people died in an explosion, and the fact that the Russian military secret service GRU was behind the attack is practically beyond doubt - in April 2021, Babis, who was also prime minister at the time, personally confirmed it.
The current anti-Ukrainian provocations of "Freedom and Direct Democracy" are due to internal party power struggles and, as the prime minister noted, are appeals to voters. Okamura and some of his party colleagues have been arguing about who is the bigger hardliner after the party lost almost five percent of its votes in the October 2025 elections.
"Threat to national security"
There is also a personal component to Okamura's speeches: his tragic childhood. After the divorce of his parents - a Japanese man and a Czech woman, he spent years in a Czech children's home, did not feel at home in either country and was a victim of discrimination. Later, the man became a right-wing extremist. His brother Hayato, who is also a politician but is part of the Czech Christian Democrats, warned in November 2025 in a very emotional speech in parliament that Tomio was "an unstable person" and "threat to national security".
Following Babis's statement that he intends to continue the Czech ammunition initiative, Okamura has demonstrated that he is willing to compromise once the Czech Republic no longer funds the initiative. But it is doubtful that this will end the disputes in the coalition.
The paradox is that the affair surrounding Okamura's speech turned out to be beneficial for Ukraine - as it led to an increase in donations to the private Czech initiative "Gift for Putin", which collects funds for the Ukrainian army and buys weapons with them.
Author: Keno Ferzek