Babiš's Box

Cross-border investigation of one of the biggest leaks of financial documents, the Pandora Papers, has exposed the tax haven secrecy and tax avoidance of world leaders from Moscow to Amman. Perhaps with little surprise Czech PM Andrej Babiš made the shortlist of the high-net-worth individuals implicated. This comes just days before crucial elections where his ANO party has so far led in support ratings. Will the revelations influence undecided voters? Wojciech Przybylski and Kamil Jaronczyk weigh in. Three major Polish media outlets launched an investigation of their own thoroughly examining positions awarded in state-owned or controlled public companies. The findings shed light on how such posts are distributed based on the level of loyalty to the ruling party rather than merit - a sign of nepotism within the PiS echelons. Government coalition in Slovakia remains shaky as the leader of the nationalist party is accused of abusing power to drop prosecution charges against a corrupt Slovak politician. Klára Dobrev, wife of former Hungarian PM Ference Gyurcsány, remembered for his corrupt past, outperforms others in Hungary’s opposition primaries. An interview with Senior Associate at Visegrad Insight Marcin Zaborowski explores Central Europe’s reaction to the AUKUS fiasco. What does strategic autonomy mean for the region, EU Battlegroups and more in this week’s podcast.