title: Czech election winner Babis meets anti-EU party in hunt for viable government
text: PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech billionaire Andrej Babis s ANO party met an anti-European Union, anti-immigration group on Thursday in search of a coalition partner as it struggles to convert a huge election win into a majority government.   ANO won three times the votes of its nearest rival in last weekend s election that saw a popular swing from mainstream traditional parties towards outsiders, echoing a recent shift in Europe in favor of anti-establishment groups.  But with Babis facing potential fraud charges, which he denies, most parties have ruled out any tie-up with ANO although it won over many voters with pledges to run the state like a business and weed out political corruption. The post-election limbo raises the risk that the 2018 state budget might not be approved within the deadline of year-end and kept open the possibility that ANO could opt for minority rule supported by far-left and far-right factions. On Thursday, ANO met the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party, which won 22 seats to ANO s 78. ANO has so far ruled out a block with the SPD but the two have found common ground on curbing immigration, a referendum law and welfare reform. ANO deputy chief Jaroslav Faltynek declined to say whether it would seek SPD support in a coalition or for a minority government.  We have not spoken with the SPD about a government today. We issued a clear stance, even before the election, that we would not form a government either with SPD or KSCM (Communists),  he told reporters.     Police are looking into whether Babis hid ownership of a convention centre that received a 2 million-euro EU subsidy in 2008 though it was intended for small businesses. He says the investigation was part of efforts to push him from politics. Babis has called single-party government unrealistic and says he aims to have a coalition by Christmas. He has been talking to the Social Democrats and Christian Democrats, ANO s partners in the outgoing government, the SPD, Communists, conservative Civic Democrats and the liberal Pirates. Turning to the SPD could raise eyebrows in Brussels as the party has demanded a referendum on membership in the EU, a risky move in the eurosceptic-leaning country of 10.6 million people. 