Vaclav Havel is still considered the best post-Communist Czech president, according to a survey published today by the STEM/MARK agency. He is followed by the current president, Petr Pavel, who has overtaken Vaclav Klaus since the survey was last conducted in the spring. Fourth and last place went to Pavel’s predecessor, Milos Zeman.
Pavel is rated positively mainly in terms of his public speaking and how he represents Czech interests abroad.
“In connection with the last parliamentary elections, we also asked about the assessment of President Petr Pavel in terms of post-election negotiations,” said Jan Burianec of the STEM/MARK agency. “There was a strong difference according to voter affiliation, with voters of the parties of the past government and the Pirates evaluating the President’s actions mostly positively, and voters of Stacilo! or Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) negatively. ANO voters, Motorists voters, and non-voters are more divided in their assessment.”
The current head of state received an average grade of 2.6 on the school scale (by which 1 is the best grade, 5 is the worst), improving by 0.2 compared to May. Respondents praised Pavel’s public appearances, including regular trips to the regions, as well as his representation and defence of Czech interests abroad. According to the survey authors, the president has room for improvement in resolving disputes on the domestic political scene.
It is still the case that people without a secondary school diploma like Milos Zeman more than average, while Vaclav Havel dominates among those with higher education. Pavel was positively evaluated by young people under 30, those with a university degree and people with high income. Pavel also earned better ratings from supporters of the Spolu, Mayors and Independents (STAN) and Pirates coalition. Vaclav Klaus is the most evenly rated across socio-demographic groups.
The survey was conducted on 1,008 adult respondents from 14-27 October.
