The Czech general election this autumn, once seemingly a smooth path to victory for billionaire politician Andrej Babiš, has been thrown into unexpected turmoil by an extraordinary scandal involving a plot to kill a dog.
According to Times UK, the former prime minister’s populist Ano party, which had pledged to abandon the government’s unpopular austerity measures, was leading strongly in the polls. Reports suggested Babiš was already preparing his cabinet. That momentum now faces a dramatic test following what has been dubbed “the curious incident of the dog in the daytime.”
At the center of the controversy is MP Margita Balastikova, 57, who was reportedly being considered by Babiš for the agriculture ministry. Investigative news website Seznam Zpravy published recordings that allegedly reveal Balastikova attempting to hire a hitman to kill a dog belonging to her former husband’s new partner, identified only as “JJ.” The recordings date back to the summer of 2023 during a bitter divorce.
Balastikova initially dismissed the recordings as fabricated, stating, “I did nothing. Unlike some other people, I can wake up in the morning and look at myself in the mirror and I don’t have to be angry with myself.” However, a second batch of audio files appeared to show her discussing the arrangement and payment of 50,000 Czech koruna (£1,760) for the dog’s killing. Following the revelations, she deleted her social media accounts and suspended her membership of the Ano party to avoid jeopardizing its campaign.
Babiš has publicly disowned Balastikova, emphasizing his party’s pro-animal stance: “We can’t have people like that in the movement … Of course Balastikova messed up … It’s her mistake and I dealt with it right away, because we all love animals.”
While the full impact on voter sentiment remains uncertain, the scandal is particularly sensitive in a nation where nearly half of households own at least one dog. Babiš, who has previously faced multiple allegations of wrongdoing—from EU subsidy fraud to secret property acquisitions—has been posing with animals in public appearances in an apparent attempt to reassure the electorate.
The unfolding “canine assassination” controversy, as reported by Times UK, marks one of the most unusual and high-profile scandals in recent Czech political history, with potentially serious implications for the election outcome.
