Zeman rules out possible clemency for Babiš

The Czech president, Miloš Zeman, says he will not pardon Andrej Babiš if the ANO leader is found guilty on charges of subsidy fraud. In an interview for the news site Blesk.cz, Mr. Zeman said Mr. Babiš was no Jiří Kajínek, who had spent 23 years in prison. The president pardoned Mr. Kajínek in May.

Mr. Babiš and a fellow ANO deputy are accused of illicitly acquiring CZK 50 million in EU subsidies for a farm that was in the past owned by the former’s company Agrofert.

Mr. Zeman also said that his preferred outcome of general elections next month would be a coalition of ANO and Social Democrats, and that he would never sink so low as to criticise the prime minister in a foreign publication.

A few days ago PM Bohuslav Sobotka said that the incumbent head of state would not win re-election and that this would lead to an improvement in Czech political culture.