Czechia's opposition leader attacked at campaign rally, sent to hospital

Babiš was released Monday evening from hospital. “I thank everyone for the support, I hope I will be fine…unfortunately, I will have to cancel at the least Tuesday's program in the Olomouc region," he said. The ex-prime minister commented that doctors reccomended he "take it easy." Police have provisionally defined the attack as hooliganism. On Wednesday and Thursday, Babis is scheduled to present his election manifesto elsewhere in Moravia-Silesia. It is unclear whether this will take place.

Former Czech Prime Minister and leader of the populist ANO party Andrej Babiš was struck in the head during a campaign event in the late afternoon today in the village of Dobrá (Moravia-Silesia), the party has confirmed.

Babiš, aged 70, has been sent to a local hospital for examination (a CT brain scan) following the incident, a spokesperson said. Babiš had been campaiging for the country's upcoming general parliamentary election, which occured on Oct. 3-4.

“We will still find out what his health condition is, I don't have this information yet," they stated.

"A man between 50 and 60 years old appeared in the crowd and started hitting Babiš in the head and back with a crutch," Czech media outlet Novinky.cz writes. Police were present at the scene and intervened, but neither Babiš nor law enforcement has issued public statements on the attack.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico both survived assassination attempts in 2024. Though the attack on Babiš is not as serious, commentators will draw parallels that all three men have populist, right-wing ideologies.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala condemned the attack. He learned of the news during a debate in Tábor; he wished Babiš a speedy recovery. He outright rejected and condemned all forms of violence in politics.

Interior Minister Vít Rakušan condemned the incident on Instagram. “Violence in any form is unacceptable and will not solve anything. I unequivocally condemn today's attack on Andrej Babiš. Let's look for a better future for our country in clashes of arguments and ideas, not in physical violence," he wrote.

The opposition party is partially blaming those in power for the attack. ANO First Deputy Chairman Karel Havlíček released a statement saying: "This is a direct result of the hate campaign led by the [current] Spolu coalition, the Pirates, and in recent days STAN."

He continued: "This time it ended with a blow to the head, next time it could be worse. They based their campaign on inciting fear and hatred; they are making Babiš into God knows what. We warned that it could end badly, and it did," he told Czech media.

ANO Vice-chairwoman Alena Schillerová sharply condemned the attack: "The hatred spread by the government parties on billboards and social networks resulted in an attack on Andrej Babiš today. It is a direct consequence of their campaign based on fear and division," she told national media.