CZECHIA-2022: AUTUMN ELECTIONS ON THE BACKGROUND OF THE GLOBAL CRISIS

The article considers the elections to local governments and the Senate, which were held in the Czech Republic in late September – early October 2022. Results, despite insignificant influence on the formation of national policy, demonstrate the trends of Czech electoral behavior and indicate the processes of the country’s party-political development on background of the global crisis. Firstly, it is necessary to indicate it’s a little influence on the position of political forces within the country; the traditional liberal electorate has not been convinced of its adherence to value ideals due to the worsening socio-economic situation in the country. Secondly, the political forces that form the current government have become convinced of the need to preserve the coalition in order to defeat the opposition forces (ANO, SPD). The duels in the second round of the senatorial elections demonstrated a great potential for mobilizing voters who sympathize with cabinet parties. At the same time, the ANO electorate turned out to be inert and incapable of activating its potential in an emergency situation («elections as a referendum of government confidence»). Thirdly, political analysts record the transformation of the ANO movement, which began to get rid of the reputation of the «party of one person» in the direction of a party consisting of many charismatic politicians. The author of the work states that a combination of these factors shows that the brainchild of A. Babiš will face great difficulties in nominating his candidate for the presidency of the country, whose elections will be held in January 2023.