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As in past years, nearly all adult residents of the Czech Republic trust the Fire Rescue Service. However, other security institutions—the Czech Police and the Czech Army—also enjoy the trust of more than three-quarters of the Czech public. The level of trust in the Czech National Bank is similarly high. In contrast, institutions associated with the exercise of political power and lawmaking have long been perceived as less trustworthy, with opinions on them strongly polarized along political preferences. The President of the Republic, however, enjoys a significantly higher level of trust than the government members and the chambers of Parliament, with more than half of citizens expressing confidence in him.
The reduction of defense spending is supported by less than one-fifth of Czechs; the rest would prefer an increase to the NATO average or even higher, respectively stagnation at last year’s level. Attitudes toward military spending are strongly linked to political preferences and the perception of threats to the Czech Republic’s security. The data comes from an April survey conducted by the STEM Institute for Empirical Research as part of the Trendy Series.
According to a February survey by STEM, the attitudes of the Czech public toward most European countries are slightly more positive than in 2025. Italy has joined Switzerland and Austria among the highest-rated countries. On the other hand, the STEM survey recorded a year-on-year decline in sympathy towards China, Palestine, Russia and Serbia. It is important to emphasize that the survey was conducted before the start of the US and Israeli attack on Iran.
The office of the Pope continues to enjoy the highest level of popularity among foreign representatives. Although there was a change at the head of the Catholic Church last year, with Pope Leo XIV succeeding the late Pope Francis, he has become established among the Czech public as the most positively perceived figure in the entire ranking. By contrast, Russian President Vladimir Putin remains the most negatively perceived.
Global uncertainty and the lack of positive developments in Ukraine appear to be motivating Czechs to adopt a more positive attitude toward the military and investment in national defense. A January survey by the STEM Institute for Empirical Research showed that attitudes in all three areas have shifted toward greater support. However, these attitudes are strongly polarized along the lines of respondents’ political leanings.
Last year, the STEM Analytical Institute established a collaborative partnership with five distinguished public opinion research agencies—KANTAR, IPSOS, MEDIAN, NMS, and Data Collect. These entities, all renowned for their pre-election polling, are united under the industry oversight body, SIMAR. A consensus was reached to conduct a collaborative study analyzing the outcomes and broader context of the recent parliamentary elections; the conclusions of this initiative are presented in the comprehensive report. Each participating entity authored a distinct thematic chapter, and this document presents a commentary on STEM’s findings regarding the electoral behavior of the Czech public across diverse sociodemographic strata. The full report is accessible via the link provided at the conclusion of this article.
Almost three-fifths of citizens state that they trust President Petr Pavel (57%). Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is also trusted by an absolute majority of citizens (55%). Both constitutional officials currently hold high support—by Czech standards—and possess significant political capital. Senate President Miloš Vystrčil and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Tomio Okamura also maintain solid support at nearly forty percent, however, among the highest constitutional officials, Tomio Okamura has the strongest group of opponents. Attitudes toward constitutional officials are significantly conditioned by voting behavior and political preferences.
