ANO’s Political Evolution

Perception of corruption for a long time functioned as one of the major factors influencing the electoral behavior in CEE, boosting the electoral success of new parties at the expense of the political establishment. This phenomenon was, and to some degree still is, influential for the political landscapes of countries in this region. It is in particular evident in the Czech party system, where the corruption scandals of politicians from established parties increased the already strongly present anti-establishment sentiments in society. These trends gradually formed the basis of the protest vote that facilitated electoral breakthroughs of a new wave of parties. The increasing success of such parties in turn led to the fragmentation of the party system, and to a certain extent also political instability. Among the first parties profiled to successfully utilize such sentiments was VV (Public Affairs), which competed in 2010 electoral earthquake elections. Later on, however, another party used a similar campaign strategy, in which corruption played a crucial role. ANO, the most successful from the wave of anti-establishment parties that surged the Czech party system, was around for some time. It occupied the electoral vacuum after the fiasco of VV that made the breakthrough on the anti-corruption and anti-establishment platform. Running on a similar ticket, ANO combined such rhetoric with its own variant of technocratic populism. It involved promises of effective governance and managerial experience. In its initial phase of party emergence, ANO was praised by the domestic NGO sector for its programme and focus on tackling corruption. However, when the party got involved in the country's governance and faced its own scandals, its focus and rhetoric changed. While in government, ANO invested significant political capital into social-welfare spending, in particular boosting pensions. This helped ANO to attract a new electorate, formerly supporting its left-wing allies that lost parliamentary representation as result. Without them, ANO remains in opposition, while flirting with far-right groups like Patriots for Europe in its attempt to utilize changing sentiments caused by skyrocketing inflation and overall uncertainty. This paper maps ANO´s evolution in both external and internal dimensions.