“He raised pensions, he raised wages, while the governments before just promised and didn’t do anything,” says Bohuslav, a pensioner who came to support Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš at his election rally in the industrial town of Ústí nad Labem. “Finally, pensioners don’t have to go around in tracksuits and search for discounts in supermarket fliers, they can buy normal products now,” says Petr, also retired. The elderly crowd is waiting to get into the local theater to see their favorite candidate in dialogue with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán, who came to give Babiš a boost ahead of the parliamentary elections on October 8–9.

Talking with Babiš’s fans, it is obvious that they remain undeterred by the countless scandals facing the tycoon, who is presently indicted for the embezzlement of European Union (EU) subsidies and now faces allegations of dodgy offshore dealings coming out of the Pandora Papers investigation. “It’s all invented,” says Jiří, also retired. For Bohuslav, it’s only relative: “All politicians have scandals.” “He doesn’t need to steal, because he already has money, he worked hard his whole life to make it,” explains Věra, a devoted fan of the billionaire oligarch-turned-politician.