Czechs' trust in government plummeting

Prague, Oct 24 (CTK) - The trust in the Czech government and the Chamber of Deputies fell by 50 percent over the past year, according to a poll conducted by the polling institute CVVM in October and released Wednesday.

A mere one-tenth of Czechs are trusting their government and the Chamber of Deputies.

Out of elected institutions, the biggest trust is being enjoyed by local town halls and mayors, with one half of confidence.

Only 4 percent of Czechs are satisfied with the overall political situation in the Czech Republic.

Compared with the September poll, the trust in elected institutions has only changed by 1-2 percent, but there was a major shift on a year-on-year basis.

In October 2011, the Czech government was trusted by 24 percent of Czechs, but this October by only 12 percent.

The trust in the Chamber of Deputies plunged from 18 percent to 10 percent in a single year.

President Vaclav Klaus is trusted by exactly one half of Czechs, which is 7 percent less than a year ago.

The Senate is trusted by one-fifth of Czechs, which was 3 percent less than a year ago, the regional assemblies by 36 percent or 6 percent less than a year ago.

A fall was recorded even for the most popular institutions, the local town halls. At present, they are trusted by 55 percent of Czechs, while it was almost two-thirds of them in October 2011.

Since this February, the CVVM has also been recording the trust in regional governors and mayors. The latter are being trusted by 54 percent of Czechs, the former by 36 percent. In February, the figures stood at 58 percent and 39 percent, respectively.

Along with falling trust in the government and the Chamber of Deputies, Czechs' dissatisfaction with the political situation in the country was growing. It was voiced by 81 percent of those polled, which was 10 percent more than a year ago.

People with good living standards and higher education as well as voters of the governing right-wing Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and TOP 09 tend to trust the government more than the rest.

On the other hand, the followers of the opposition Social Democrats (CSSD) and the Communists (KSCM) mostly do not trust it.

The same picture is true of the president, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.