Police in the Czech Republic have opened an investigation into an anonymous letter against presidential candidate and former prime minister Andrej Babis just days before the runoff election in an increasingly rarefied environment.
The letter, addressed Thursday to Babis’ wife, contained insults and what appears to be a bullet, the candidate himself explained at a press conference reported by Czech news agency CTK.
Babis, a tycoon who founded the center-right populist Alliance of Disgruntled Citizens (ANO) party in 2011, has repudiated the threats as has his main rival in the second round on the 28th, retired general Petr Pavel, who has nevertheless accused Babis of straining the atmosphere with his aggressive campaign.
«This kind of thing has no place in a democratic election, but the atmosphere is tense mainly because of the voter intimidation that Babis is leading,» Pavel explained.
The former prime minister is being criticized for exacerbating fears of an expanding war in Ukraine but Babis defends that he is only trying to get his message across to bet on a dialogue solution to the conflict.
The current head of the Czech government, Petr Fiala, has also condemned the missive. «It is necessary to unequivocally condemn any violence, whether direct or in the form of threats. Such things have no place in the Czech Republic. We are and must remain a civilized and democratic country,» he said.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
