Andrej Babiš

The Czech prime minister is off the hook for alleged fraud — for now.

For four years, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has faced allegations that he illegally used EU subsidies to build a conference centre near Prague known as the Stork's Nest.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis on Sept. 3 encouraged Turkish companies to increase their investment in Czechia, formerly called the Czech Republic, especially in the construction sector.     

Then there was the suspension of Hungary's governing party, Fidesz, from the European People's Party due to the party's overt shift toward authoritarianism in the past years and straightforward attacks on European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

The EU has already frozen non-farm payments to Agrofert — one of the largest Czech recipients of EU aid — and the Czech supreme state prosecutor is looking into whether criminal charges should be brought.

Brussels is likely to levy fines and demand that past aid is repaid, meaning that either the state or Agrofert would have to bear the cost.

In Czech Republic, scandal-hit Prime Minister Andrej Babis shows no sign of stepping down following the country's biggest street protests since the fall of communism, writes Tim Gosling. On Thursday, Babis survived a no-confidence vote.

Examples are legion. When Der Spiegel reported that the far-right Alternative for Deutschland had misappropriated funds, the party's supporters could not have cared less.

An estimated 250,000 people rallied in Prague on Sunday to demand the resignation of Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis in the country's largest protest since the fall of communism in 1989.

Trump maintains the support of the religious right and conservatives despite allegations of sexual harassment and adultery. Babis launched his ANO party in 2011 appealing to popular anger over a political system rife with corruption, but persistent accusations of fraud and graft have not dented support.

Mainstream pro-EU parties on the centre-left and centre-right took a battering in Czech elections for the European Parliament but the main beneficiaries were "anti-system" centrist parties rather than the far right.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis' ruling ANO party came top, gaining two seats for a total of six of the country's 21 seats and 21.18% of the vote.

Babis' pragmatic - or hypocritical - approach to the EU looks likely to serve him well when Czechs vote May 24-25. Polls suggest his party will come first with about 25 per cent of the votes.

This result is all the more remarkable, given that this essentially one-man party has no real ideology, or content in terms of policies.