The 8% solution

The next election polls will perhaps be the most important of this election cycle, because they'll show how seriously ODS has been hurt by PM Petr Fiala's promise of German-level wages within five years. A further downward swing that brought the Spolu coalition of ODS, TOP 09 and KDU-ČSL closer to the 11% threshold for making it into Parliament would force ODS to act. ODS could either change it policies, its leader or its coalition partners. If Fiala sees his role in history as the one who must prevent Andrej Babiš from returning to power, he should give consideration to agreeing with STAN to take TOP 09 back as its election partner. They have similar policies, and such a tie-up would lower the threshold for a coalition of the less-progressive ODS and KDU-ČSL to a safer 8%. It's a way for the four coalition partners to hedge their bets in the name of defeating a common enemy. Otherwise, Fiala risks going down as the one who allowed Babiš to create the strongest government in Czech history.