Polls & Research

Czech Unconvinced About Their Politicians

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the Czech Republic are disappointed with their current public servants, according to a poll by STEM. 72 per cent of respondents believe today's politicians are not more honest than those from the communist era.

Czechoslovakia was separated into two countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, in the "velvet divorce" of 1993, a reference to the "velvet revolution" in 1989 when mass peaceful demonstrations led to the end of communist rule in the country.

In early June 2006, Czech voters renewed the Chamber of Representatives. Final results gave the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) 35.58 per cent of all cast ballots, followed by the Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) with 32.32 per cent. Czech parties require at least five per cent of the vote to earn seats under the country's proportional representation system. The final tallies give the ODS, the Democratic Union - Czech People's Party (KDU-CSL) and the Green Party (SZ) 100 seats in the lower house, with the remaining 100 seats going to the CSSD and the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM).

The tie among rival factions led to a long political stalemate. On Jan. 9, Czech president Vaclav Klaus re-appointed ODS leader Mirek Topolanek as prime minister. On Jan. 19, the government won a confidence motion in the Chamber of Representatives after a 100-97 vote.

Yesterday, Czech interior minister Ivan Langer announced his intention to "simplify" access to files from the Communist Secret Service, adding, "The project is designed mainly to allow the public to look into the documents that describe the practice of the totalitarian regime, but have not been published."

Polling Data

Would you say today's politicians are more honest than those from the communist era?