Major foreign media also reacted to the results of the first round of the presidential election.

Daily Financial timing and the Brussels website Political agreed that Petr Pavel would be the favorite for the decisive fight. Citing the average public opinion poll, Politico stated that he could get almost 60 percent in the second round, while Babiš got about 40 percent.

Politico wrote that Pavel’s eventual success would mean good news for the European Union, as he could compromise more than Babiš. “This is good news for European bureaucrats, who are counting on the fact that Pavlo’s victory will help smooth negotiations within the EU and prevent the Czech Republic from further isolation,” the Brussels server said.

The Financial Times later recalled the concerns Babiš raised in Brussels as Prime Minister when he admired then US President Donald Trump.

World agencies drew attention to the low difference between the candidates in the first two ranks – namely Petr Pavlo and Andrej Babiš. Reuters agent predictthat the second round would not be easy for former prime minister Babiš.

According to him, first place Petr Pavel secured a “solid foundation” for the second round in two weeks. However, the Czech Republic will have a more pro-Western leader than it has so far, regardless of which candidate wins in the second round, Reuters says.

Polish media also hoped that Pavel would win in the second round, although it will be a tough fight. Babiš, on the other hand, blamed the fine on Turów and his friendly relationship with Orbán. Pavlo’s win in the first half was described by right-wing server Do Rzeczy as a “Sensation in Bohemia”. What a change in the presidential election.’

The Slovak press believes that the idea of ​​a presidential election as a “Babiš referendum” has so far been fulfilled. The Hospodárske noviny newspaper predicted that much about the second-round result could be predicted by the TV debate, which he said played a key role in Miloš Zeman’s victory over Jiří Drahoš five years ago.

In his opinion, the greatest disappointment from the number of votes received must be felt by Nerudová, “who called himself Slovak president Zuzana Čaputová, although in appearance she lacked the natural charm and humility of a Slovak head of state”.

The Sme newspaper later recalled that although, in his opinion, the Czech Republic was ahead of Slovakia on many ethical issues, it had never had a woman as head of government and had no experience even with a female president. “Most of the Czech people yearn for ‘Czech Čaputová’, and that’s why they were very attracted to Nerudová, even though they didn’t know much about him at first,” the paper said.

The support of Czech President Miloš Zeman and a visit to French President Emmanuel Macron also boosted Babiš’ chances, wrote the German daily Sächsische Zeitung. According to the newspaper, Prime Minister Fiala’s harsh criticism of the government in his only appearance in a pre-election debate helped him win 35 percent of the vote.

The DPA agency reported that Babiš presented himself in the campaign as “a defender of those suffering from high inflation and high energy prices”, while Pavel referred to his past experiences, when he chaired NATO’s military committees.

The Reuters office described Pavel as strongly pro-Western, while Babiš would represent a lesser departure from Miloš Zeman’s previous position. “Babiš shares Zeman’s warm relationship with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is at odds with his EU partners over the rule of law,” the agency wrote. Babiš also opposed greater Czech military aid to Ukraine.

The close results were also noticed by the media from neighboring countries. Germany did not find Babiš and Pavel’s progress to the second round of elections to be surprising. However, the daily Saxon quit due to Neruda’s low turnout.

The Ukrainian website Evropská pravda (EP), which covers the Czech elections in great detail, he spoke about the ex-prime minister’s possible win as the “worst case scenario for Ukraine”. According to Bavarian TV BR, the war in Ukraine played an important role in the presidential election.

The Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza wrote that Pavel was considered the political heir of Václav Havel and a representative of Western values. Babiš, according to the newspaper, took an “ambiguous position towards sanctions against Russia”.

AP’s agency spoke of the second round between “populist billionaire Andrej Babiš and retired general Petr Pavlo. At the same time, Babiš’ release increases his chances of winning in the first round,” explained AP. However, the prosecutor’s office can still appeal. As the agency concludes, despite the many scandals, support for the former prime minister is still strong, especially among older voters.

Even before the first round, the figure of the former prime minister received the most attention from foreign media. The Guardian newspaper also recalled his acquittal in the Sparrow’s Nest case, where allegations of subsidy fraud were handled.

“The election was overshadowed by Andrej Babiš’ long-running court battle. But the billionaire got an electoral boost this week when a Prague court acquitted him of fraud charges. write The Guardian newspaper.

However, Reuters points to the frustration of some voters “that more than 30 years after the fall of the communist regime, the first-round winners are people who were members of the Communist Party before its end in 1989”.