Poll: Czechs pessimistic about economy and fear falling into poverty

Czechs are skeptical about the development of the prices of goods and services, which are currently growing rapidly. They also say the government is not taking sufficient steps to improve the situation.

A full 80 percent of Czech respondents say that due to rising energy prices, they had to start saving more and limit some of their needs. Almost 65 percent fear poverty, and according to them, the government is not taking sufficient steps to prevent a decline in living standards.

The situation associated with rising prices has also changed some of their preferences. A larger group of people would prefer an increase in social benefits instead of investments in environmental protection, according to research by polling agency STEM that was conducted on over 1,000 Czech residents over the age of 18 from June 10 to 20, 2022.

The majority of Czechs are quite skeptical about the future development of the prices of goods and services, with 82 percent believing that the situation will probably or definitely not improve in a year. People over the age of 60 and those already in a difficult situation were the most pessimistic.

On the contrary, there are more optimists among university students, as well as among people aged 18 to 29. In both cases, 25 percent of respondents expect the situation to improve in the future. Across the board, however, the opinion clearly dominates that it will not improve.

Most people are already feeling the effects and are taking various steps. Due to the increase in the price of energy, 80 percent of people have had to start saving more and limit some of their needs. The situation affects people over 60 most sensitively, with 89 percent claiming that they had to start becoming more modest.

The largest group of those who have not yet had to take greater austerity measures is among young people under 29 years of age, with 31 percent saying they are not taking steps.

People also tend to take a dark view of their own situation. Almost 65 percent show concern about poverty or an intolerable drop in their own standard of living.

Women are more worried than men about the decline in their own living situation or poverty. People with lower education are also more concerned. But even among university students, 54 percent are afraid of a deterioration of their standard of living.

People over 60 years of age have the highest fear of deterioration of any age group, at 71 percent. Residents of the Moravia-Silesia region, at 76 percent, have the highest fear of people from any region.

Some 84 percent believe that the government is not doing much to prevent a significant increase in poverty in the Czech Republic. The voters of the opposition SPD and the ANO movement are the most critical in this regard, with 97 percent and 93 percent respectively saying that the government is not doing enough. On the contrary, 55 percent of voters of the governing SPOLU coalition say that the government is trying hard enough.

Younger and university-educated people uniformly give greater credit for the effort to the government. Greater criticism then comes from those without a high school diploma and people over 60 years old.

Current developments associated with the rise in prices and the ongoing war in Ukraine have significantly affected the priorities of residents in other areas. People's preferences regarding whether they would rather invest more in the environment or increase social benefits have varied since 1998.

While at the beginning of 2020, when the economy was positively assessed, 67 percent of people gave priority to investments in environmental protection. Currently, both attitudes are almost balanced, with 53 percent saying there should be an increase in social benefits and 47 percent favoring the environment. Younger people tend to favor the environment, while older people are more likely to want an increase in benefits.