Czech President Petr Pavel has officially appointed Andrej Babiš as prime minister, returning the billionaire populist ANO leader to power after his party’s victory in October’s election.⁣ ⁣ The televised ceremony at Prague Castle paves the way for a new coalition government that will include the far-right, anti-EU SPD and the Motorists for Themselves party.⁣ ⁣ Babiš has pledged to slash direct military aid to Ukraine from the national budget and has questioned the future of the Czech-led international ammunition procurement initiative for Kyiv, calling it overpriced and lacking transparency.⁣ ⁣ The full cabinet is expected to be sworn in later this month.⁣ ⁣ #CzechRepublic #AndrejBabis