Czechs, Poles and Hungarians fear Russian influence on the European elections. Slovaks of EU influence

Attempts by foreign states or international institutions to influence the European elections are perceived as a big problem by 55 percent of Poles, 38 percent of the population in Hungary, 35 percent of people in the Czech Republic and 31 percent in Slovakia.

In the Czech Republic, another 37 percent of respondents said that the influence of other players within the campaign is a minor problem for them, and 28 percent do not consider it a problem at all.

Czechs, Poles and Hungarians are the first to mention concerns about Russian influence. 44 percent of people in the Czech Republic, more than half of Hungarians and over three fifths of Poles believe that Russia will influence the elections.

Survey: The best-known leaders for the European elections are Nerudová, Zaorálek and Vondra

Euro elections

In Slovakia, people most often expressed concern about the European Union, for example, the European Commission, influencing the elections. Russian influence is cited only in third place after the USA.

Czechs, Hungarians and Poles mention the Union in second place. In Hungary, 47 percent of people are also worried about Chinese influence, in Poland the same proportion mentions the possible influence of Germany. Czechs and Hungarians also expect the influence of the United States in the leading positions.

European authorities are more trusted than domestic governments

Czechs and Poles showed a higher degree of satisfaction with the functioning of democracy compared to the other V4 countries, roughly a third of respondents in these countries are satisfied. In Slovakia and Hungary, a fifth of the population is satisfied with the functioning of democracy. Three quarters of Hungarians, 67 percent of Slovaks, three fifths of Czechs and roughly half of Poles agreed with the statement that most politicians are corrupt.

“About a quarter of the Czech population trusts the European Parliament and the European Commission. Confidence in Czech institutions – parliament, government and domestic political parties – is paradoxically lower than in European ones,” Michal Šenk from CEDMO commented on the results for the Czech Republic. Czechs are divided into three roughly equal parts in their attitude towards the EU. Three out of ten Czechs perceive the union positively, a third of people are neutral, and 37 percent have a negative attitude towards the union.

Poles showed the greatest interest in participating in the European elections in the survey, about 78 percent of whom want to come. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, about six out of ten respondents plan to participate.

Over 1,000 adult respondents participated in the survey in each of the V4 countries. The survey took place at the turn of March and April. Data collection for CEDMO was provided by Ipsos in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, and by Instytut Badań Pollster in Poland. Elections to the European Parliament (EP) will take place on June 7 and 8.