Czech populist opposition leads as election set for October

PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czechs will hold parliamentary elections on October 3-4, President Petr Pavel said on Tuesday, setting the stage for a contest between the unpopular, centre-right governing coalition and a populist opposition allied with Europe's far right.

The opposition ANO party led by former Prime Minister Andrej Babis leads opinion polls by a wide margin ahead of Prime Minister Petr Fiala's Spolu (Together) coalition, which has been strongly supportive of Ukraine.

Forming a majority to back a new government will depend on the performance of smaller parties including both government and opposition groups that are uncertain to win any seats in parliament.

Under Fiala, the Czech Republic shipped heavy weapons to help Kyiv soon after the Russian invasion in February 2022 and has led an initiative to find and fund artillery ammunition for Ukraine's defence. ANO has been critical of the efforts.

Babis has rallied supporters by promising harsher limits on migration to Europe, and is a self-proclaimed supporter of Donald Trump, although he has criticised tariff increases.

ANO is part of the far-right Patriots for Europe group in European Parliament alongside the Fidesz party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and France's National Rally of Marine Le Pen.

The elections are to parliament's lower house which has a four-year term and approves a new prime minister along with the cabinet.

In an opinion poll by the Kantar agency for Czech Television released on Sunday, ANO led with 35% backing ahead of 19.5% for Spolu.

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Ros Russell)