Czech’s billionaire PM Babis survives ouster bid over fraud

Bloomberg

The Czech Republic’s billionaire prime minister survived a non-confidence vote and defeated a challenge sparked by fraud allegations.
Andrej Babis, who rose to power by attacking the political establishment and campaigning against Muslim refugees, has been facing a crescendo of calls for his ouster over investigations into his conduct as a businessman.
The pressure escalated this month after his son claimed that he had been abducted to Crimea as his father tried to hide him from the probes. Babis Sr. rejects the allegations and said his son, who’s been also accused in the fraud case, is mentally ill.
The case of alleged misuse of a European Union grant at a company that once belonged to Babis’s chemical, agriculture and media empire has strained relations between members of the ruling coalition, which is governing without a parliamentary majority.
While the Social Democrats, the junior partner, urged the the tycoon’s ANO party to pick another premier, it declined to join the opposition’s ouster motion. The Communists, who aren’t part of the government but back it in key votes, also supported Babis in the no-confidence motion.