March 23, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) leads all other political organizations in the country, according to a poll by STEM. 30.3 per cent of respondents would vote for the country’s main opposition party in the next legislative election.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) leads all other political organizations in the country, according to a poll by STEM. 30.3 per cent of respondents would vote for the country’s main opposition party in the next legislative election.

The governing Civic Democratic Party (ODS) is second with 24.2 per cent, followed by the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM) with 10.7 per cent, the Green Party (SZ) with 8.9 per cent, and the Christian and Democratic Union - Czech People’s Party (KDU-CSL) with 5.3 per cent.

In June 2006, Czech voters renewed the Chamber of Representatives. Final results gave the ODS 35.58 per cent of all cast ballots, followed by the 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 gave the ODS, the KDU-CSL and the SZ 100 seats in the lower house, with the remaining 100 seats going to the CSSD and the KSCM.

The tie among rival factions led to a long political stalemate. In January 2007, Czech president Vaclav Klaus re-appointed ODS leader Mirek Topolanek as prime minister. Topolanek’s government eventually won a confidence motion in the Chamber of Representatives after a 100-97 vote.

In the Czech Republic, the president is elected by Parliament to a five-year term. The Czech president can return bills to lawmakers and grant pardons to convicted criminals, and also serves as the commander in chief of the armed forces. On Feb. 15, Klaus was re-elected by Parliament.

On Mar. 13, Topolanek rejected a report by the U.S. State Department—which cited flawed law enforcement, defective policy towards minorities and judicial corruption in the Czech Republic—saying, "I can only say that a country that allows torturing of prisoners can hardly teach me about how human rights have been violated here."

Polling Data

What party list would you vote for in the next parliamentary election?

	Mar. 2008	Feb. 2008	Jan. 2008
Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD)	30.3%	31.1%	31.0%
Civic Democratic Party (ODS)	24.2%	26.7%	24.3%
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM)	10.7%	10.6%	13.1%
Green Party (SZ)	8.9%	9.4%	8.2%
Christian and Democratic Union - Czech People’s Party (KDU-CSL)	5.3%	7.0%	6.0%

Source: STEM
Methodology: Interviews with 1,320 Czech voters, conducted from Mar. 1 to Mar. 7, 2008. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.