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Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has described his ANO party’s failure to win a single seat in the Senate elections as “catastrophic”. He said the party needed to examine which local branches were doing their work and which were relying solely on the party’s strong brand.

Babiš blamed the result on regional organisations and said the party leadership would assess the situation and send a clear message to local branches. He did not specify what consequences they might face, but said the election outcome would not change the government’s strategy. He also rejected claims that the government was failing to deliver on its programme.

The ANO party would win parliamentary elections if they were held in September, but its support has fallen to 29.5 percent, the lowest level since May, according to a poll by the Median agency published on Saturday. The opposition STAN party came second with 17 percent, up five percentage points from August, while the Civic Democrats (ODS) were third with 12.5 percent.

The poll suggests that the governing SPD party would receive nine percent, the opposition Pirates 7.5 percent and the Motorists party five percent, just enough to enter the Chamber of Deputies. The Christian Democrats, Communists, TOP 09 and Naše Česko would all fall short of the five-percent threshold.

The survey was conducted in September, ahead of the regional and Senate elections.

The Mayors and Independents (STAN) party has won the Czech Senate elections for the first time in six years. The elections covered one-third of the Senate’s 81 seats, with run-offs held in 22 districts. Ten of STAN’s 14 candidates were elected, including two in the first round.

The opposition Civic Democrats (ODS) also gained ground, winning seven seats despite defending only five. The governing ANO movement failed to win any of the 13 run-off contests in which its candidates took part.

The Christian Democrats and TOP 09 retained all their seats, three and two respectively. The Pirates lost their representation in the Senate after their only candidate in the run-offs failed to defend her seat. Turnout in the second round was nearly 22 percent.

Turnout in the second round reached 21.12 percent, the highest level since 2010. Among the notable candidates in this year’s elections were former army chief of staff Karel Řehka and historian and writer Jiří Padevět, both backed by STAN, as well as Zuzana Ceralová Petrofová, head of the piano maker PETROF, who ran for ODS and was the only woman elected to the Senate this year.

Prague’s restored Industrial Palace at the Výstaviště exhibition grounds is open to the public for free this weekend.

The city completed the reconstruction in September, after more than four and a half years of work costing around three billion crowns. The left wing, destroyed by fire in 2008, has been rebuilt to resemble the original exterior, with an interior inspired by its appearance in 1891.

Restoration work also included the central hall’s painted wooden ceiling and stained-glass windows. Guided tours held earlier this autumn sold out within minutes, and further dates are being planned.