According to a new survey, a clear majority of Czechs would vote to remain in the European Union, though almost a quarter of the population favours leaving. EU opponents are particularly strong among voters of extreme left- and right-wing parties.
If a referendum on remaining in the European Union were held in the Czech Republic today, 55 per cent of citizens would vote to stay. Almost a quarter would vote to leave, while the rest remain undecided. This is shown by a recent survey by the NMS Institute for the news portal Novinky.cz. Notable are the significant differences between voters of the various parties.
Among voters of the conservative Spolu alliance, a full 95 per cent would vote to remain; among the liberal STAN, it is 87 per cent; and among Motoristé sobě supporters, 57 per cent. Even among supporters of the opposition ANO movement, the largest group – 44 per cent – would vote to remain. Thirty-three per cent would vote to leave, while a considerable portion are still undecided.
The situation is very different among supporters of the right-wing SPD and the Stačilo! movement: only 12 per cent of SPD voters and just 10 per cent of Stačilo! sympathisers want the country to remain in the EU. While this position remains a minority view across the Czech Republic as a whole, it is firmly entrenched within these camps.
In the most recent election campaign, the question of a general referendum law also played a central role. Both the right-wing SPD and the left-wing Stačilo! movement demanded that citizens be given the opportunity to decide in referenda on a possible exit from the EU and NATO.
According to ANO Vice-Chairman Karel Havlíček, the future government will not question the Czech Republic’s membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) or the EU. Havlíček stated on Sunday in the programme Partie Terezie Tománkové on CNN Prima News that he could guarantee this. According to Havlíček, ANO, SPD, and Motoristé sobě will begin talks this week on the programme of a joint government.
Andrej Babiš will not take part in the negotiations; he announced on Facebook on Sunday that he would be taking a holiday. For his ANO party, Alena Schillerová and Karel Havlíček will negotiate the formation of the government. The negotiators plan to report on the programme agreements on Friday, once all topics have been concluded.
