(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Two-thirds of people in the Czech Republic believe their country’s public servants are not more corrupt than others, according to a poll by STEM. 68 per cent of respondents think the extent of corruption among Czech politicians is not higher than in western countries.

In June 2006, Czech voters renewed the Chamber of Representatives. The final tallies gave the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), the Christian and 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 Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) and the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (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. In February 2008, Klaus was re-elected by Parliament.

Earlier this year, Jan Rybar, head of the Czech police special investigation team—an elite unit dealing with the country’s most wanted criminals—was accused of corruption and abuse of power and was suspended from his duties. An investigation was opened into whether Rybar received money from a group of Vietnamese citizens in exchange for visas to enter the Czech Republic.

On Jul. 24, Sarka Pokorna—head of the Prague 1 state attorney’s office—commented on the case, saying, "[Rybar] is being prosecuted for indirect bribery and abuse of public office. (...) We are waiting for the outcome of the investigation. If he is cleaned of the suspicion, Rybar would be compensated for everything he lost as the result of his suspension. However, if he is convicted he will be dismissed from the police."

Polling Data

Do you agree or disagree with each of the following statement? - "The extent of corruption among Czech politicians and civil servants is higher than in western countries."

Source: STEM
Methodology: Interviews with 1,244 Czech voters, conducted from Jul. 13 to Jul. 23, 2008. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.

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