As a result of thousands of transactions and the trend of earlier electoral periods and the corrupt mechanisms applied at that time, but, let’s face it, also as a result of a certain business acumen, instincts and sense of opportunity, individuals among the post-revolutionary entrepreneurs and businessmen have increased the size of their assets to such an extent that we can speak of them as oligarchs. Of course, to include Andrej Babiš, Petr Kellner, Marek Dospiva or Daniel Křetínský in this group, we do not mean only the amount of wealth they have accumulated. In order to call someone an oligarch, he or she must also have significant influence over the ruling group or other means to achieve his or her goals. Perhaps the title of this chapter would rhyme more with “don’t go to Babiš without money”. But that would not reflect the reality of those years.
The reader can certainly ask why the means of asserting power at the top level was not mostly money, but the media. Let’s show the backdrop of the then divided power. Imagine such a Tuesday afternoon at the Straka Academy in 2019. Babiš finally has what he has dreamed of all his life, he controls everything. The phones are buzzing, messages on his mobile phone asking for help from business cronies are beeping, Tunde Bartha is lobbying for others, any minister, head of a state moloch or a regional contributory organisation will run in at the beck and call. And there’s the call from one of the defined oligarchs saying he needs help selling off some property that is in the way of a development project or that one of the counties won’t award him a contract. Well, what would Andrej Babiš consider to be adequate compensation, what would move the self-confidence of the bloated prime minister to arrange it? “Andrej, I’ll give you two million for your help” or “How about I reciprocate your efforts by selling some goods from your companies?” No, Babis was not interested in anything like that at this stage. He needed to keep the power he had acquired and prolong as much as possible the situation in which he could decide everything. That is what the electorate can guarantee him in the elections. And what is one of the few things that works on voters? The media. So the offer of compensation, whether directly or indirectly stated, must sound different. “Mr Babis, we have a big media house. If you help us in our cause, we can promise you adequate space in the newspapers.” At the time, this was one of the few things that influenced Babis’ decision-making.
And so, within a few years, the oligarchs bought up virtually all the media. And what should have protected a free society from distortions suddenly became a currency among the oligarchs.
