Nine months into the second Babiš government, Czech politics has settled into a pattern that neither its supporters nor its opponents predicted in October 2025. The coalition has not collapsed. It has also not delivered the rupture with Brussels and Kyiv that its campaign promised. What has emerged instead is a government that concedes on substance while holding the rhetorical line, and a presidency that has turned a largely ceremonial office into the main institutional check on the cabinet.

Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Teofil Bartoszewski’s assertion that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s policies are anti-European, anti-Ukrainian, and anti-Polish reflects deepening concerns within the European Union about Hungary’s increasingly divergent stance on critical issues affecting the region. Orban’s government has often found itself at odds with mainstream European policies, particularly regarding the handling of the Ukraine crisis and broader EU integration efforts. Bartoszewski’s critique is grounded in a context where Hungary, under Orban, has pursued a notably independent foreign policy, often cozying up to Russia, which has caused friction with neighboring countries and EU partners.