The Czech government of conservative leader Petr Fiala (ODS, ECR) has received the worst rating from the Czech population since 2013, according to a survey conducted by the Centre for Public Opinion Research of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CVVM).

The majority of Czech citizens are dissatisfied with the programme, activities, the composition of the government, and how the government communicates with the public.

For example, only 24% of the survey participants are satisfied with the composition of the government. Also, 69% of Czechs are dissatisfied with the government’s performance and the cabinet’s communication with the public is assessed negatively by 66%.

The current Czech government is composed of five parties – conservative Civic Democrats (ODS, ECR), Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL, EPP), conservative and pro-European TOP 09 (EPP), Mayors and Independents (STAN, EPP) and Czech Pirate Party (Pirates, Greens/EFA).

This government which promised to “bring the country back to West” during its election campaign, earned a worse rating than the previous populist and euro-sceptic government of Andrej Babiš (ANO, Renew).

Babiš’s party ANO is currently in opposition, preparing for European elections in May 2024. According to another opinion poll – Kantar – the ANO party remains the strongest party in Czechia with around 30% of general support.

The strength of the ANO party worries the ruling parties, which are already preparing their strategies for the EU elections.

A coalition of three conservative parties – Civic Democrats (ECR), Christian Democrats (EPP) and TOP 09 (EPP) – is thus considering running together in EU elections to defeat Babiš. However, their position on EU matters differs significantly, with the TOP09 pushing for a strong pro-European voice while Civic Democrats represent a more Eurosceptic voice.

(Aneta Zachová | EURACTIV.cz)