Hello and welcome to the intelligence on Economist Radio. I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

For weeks, protesters in the Czech Republic have gathered to demonstrate against the billionaire

Prime Minister Andrei Babish.

He's under investigation for alleged misuse of European funds and sparked widespread anger

after appointing a friendly justice minister when talk turned to indicting him.

It's a tactic that appears to be on the rise in Eastern Europe.

And when Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014,

it coveted more than strategic ports.

It also wanted control of the region's wine industry.

But problems ranging from bottle shortages to sanctions are vexing vintners there.

First up, though.

In Israel, just last month,

Binyaman Netanyahu was celebrating a strong showing by his Lakud party in parliamentary elections.

He had been forced to call an early poll as he faced a raft of corruption allegations.

His victory seemed like a vote of confidence by the Israeli people,

and he grinned as he greeted cheering crowds on election night.

But all has not gone smoothly since.

Israel has many political parties, and Mr. Netanyahu has struggled to build the

coalition he needs to form a government. He called publicly on one party leader, his former

defense minister, Avigdur Lieberman, to join him. Unfortunately, until this moment,

including tonight, I didn't manage to convince a Viktor Lieberman to avoid elections,

...