Following the announcement of Andrej Babiš's sweeping victory in the Czech parliamentary elections, a wave of euphoric commentary appeared both in the Czech Republic and Slovakia about a possible restart of cooperation within the Visegrad Four (V4).
Shortly after the votes were counted, Babiš told TV Markíza, a Slovak television channel, that he planned to revive the V4 -- the grouping of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland: "It worked perfectly. We achieved great things in Brussels. We had no commitments under the Green Deal, we fought illegal migration, and when Pellegrini was prime minister, we enjoyed huge successes. The group of four countries must function again."
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told the Slovak state broadcaster, STVR, the day after the election: "From my perspective, the V4 is somewhat stronger with the likely arrival of the new prime minister Babiš. Knowing Babiš, he will want to strengthen regional cooperation."
This expression of hope is understandable. Slovakia, through its self-styled "sovereign" foreign policy directed toward all four corners of the world, has failed to build any alternative to the V4.
That relations within the V4 have been effectively frozen is evident from statements by both Slovak and Czech political figures -- as well as from serious analysts of European politics.
According to Babiš and Fico, responsibility for paralysing the V4 lies elsewhere.
Babiš repeatedly blamed Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala. On 15 June, he told ECHO24: "Fiala destroyed the entire V4, which is a huge mistake -- and no one takes him seriously there now. His government doesn't understand international politics at all. If you want to defend your citizens' interests, you must find allies where you can."