Final Word from Tuesday, March 15, 2016

A STEM poll found that an all-time low of 29% of Czechs now have confidence in the EU. Whether this is good or bad news depends on your point of view, and each of the major "democratic" parties must now ask itself why its voters are turning sour on Brussels. Even more curious than the overall disillusionment is the breakdown by party lines. Voters of all of the major parties other than the Communists, meaning ANO, ČSSD, KDU-ČSL, ODS and TOP 09, are more confident than the 29% average. For example, 53% of TOP 09's voters trust Brussels, 35% of ODS's and 32% of ČSSD's. The surprisingly low overall figure of 29% means by our calculation (using weighted averages based on STEM's latest election poll) that only 19% of voters who don't identify with a major party have a positive view of Brussels. This is a big revelation, because voters of minor parties make up a third of the electorate. The pool of discontents is growing rapidly. [Czech Republic European Union KSČM]