Prgaue, May 30 (CTK) – Seventy-one percent of Czechs agree with NATO membership, which is 5 percentage points fewer than in 2015, and two thirds of people trust the Alliance’s capabilities to ensure the country’s outer security, according to a STEM poll released on Tuesday.
NATO has been permanently supported by Czechs. In 2001 it reached 70 percent and it has kept on the level in the following years, with the exception of 2009.
The Czech EU presidency in the first half of the year reinforced pro-European stances and indirectly the relationship to NATO. Support rose to 76 percent in the year.
The same level was reached in 2015, which STEM ascribes to the security tension and migrant wave.
“The latest poll shows a return to long-time average levels,” STEM said.
NATO membership is supported more frequently by young and more educated people, but supporters also predominate among people over 60 and people with elementary education. This applies across political parties, with the exception of the Communists’ (KSCM) supporters. The negative stance slightly predominates among them.
Sixty-four Czechs believe that NATO is capable of ensuring the country’s external security, which is 10 percentage points more compared to the situation two years ago.
“The year 2015 is an exception. Trust in NATO and its ability to protect us largely decreased compared to previous polls,” STEM said adding that the stance of the public was also influenced by the migrant crisis.
The poll was conducted on 1033 people on April 6-14.
