SPD, the far-right party, would demand legislation that would lead to leaving the EU, Chief Tomio Okamura said on Wednesday.
The SPD may participate in shaping the new Czech government in the next month.
PM Andrej Babis’ populist party, pro-EU ANO, is probably going to win the largest chunk of votes in the election on 8-9 October.
However, they may struggle to achieve a majority, as their partners are polling at less than 5%.
Two major opposition groups reject entering a government with Babis because of conflict of interests as he runs a business empire.
This might make the SPD, which is anti-European and anti-NATO, a partner in the talks with ANO.
The opinion polls show that the party’s support is at roughly 10%.
Okamura said his price to enter the talks would be a pledge to propose a law on holding referendums, which is not viable now.
If this legislation is introduced, it would allow for a citizens’ petition to propose a law.
Okamura’s SPD proposal
“One of the fundamental conditions is for the government manifesto to include a possibility of a referendum on leaving the EU or NATO,” Okamura said.
He said it after a meeting with President Milos Zeman, who will moderate the negotiations after the election and appoint a PM.
SPD has advertised leaving the EU for years.
A CVVM opinion poll in July found 66% of Czech citizens support EU membership, while 28% do not.
There were previous attempts to enact the referendum law in the parliament, but now it’s more apparent because of Okamura.
However, Babis’ government has opposed the proposal, which allows voting on EU membership.
Any proposal on referendum legislation would need a ⅗ constitutional majority in both houses of Parliament.
This would be hard to accomplish if the legislation is divisive, as the pro-EU opposition controls the Senate.
Moreover, the Senate election has been unstable for over six years, and under a system that often removes extreme candidates.
