EU Lisbon Treaty: Czech polls stink

Czech Happenings reported on a SANEP poll, which said that 43 per cent of Czechs think that President Vaclav Klaus should immediately sign the EU’s Treaty of Lisbon, and 44 percent of people were convinced that postponing the signature harms the Czech Republic's name within the EU.



Soon afterwards, Czech Happenings reported on another poll, by the STEM agency, which found that three fifths of the Czechs were of the opinion that Klaus harms the Czech Republic by postponing his signature on the Lisbon treaty to complete its ratification, and three fifths said that Klaus should sign the EU reform treaty immediately after the Constitutional Court confirms that the document is in compliance with the Czech constitutional order.

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Median agency poll



Suddenly, Czech Happenings reports on a Median agency poll, which tells us that sixty five per cent of Czechs support President Vaclav Klaus’ crusade against the Lisbon Treaty. Three quarters think that Klaus should not resign, if he does not sign the treaty.


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Professionalism or propaganda?


First, we notice a difference of almost 20 percentage points between the SANEP and the STEM polls, even if both seem to underline the public understanding for President Vaclav Klaus to end his obstruction and to stop harming his country.

But these differences pale into insignificance, when confronted with the Median poll, which reads like a ringing endorsement of President Klaus’ action (and which unsurprisingly has been trumpeted by some anti-EU campaigners).

The huge discrepancies cast a doubt on the professionalism and work ethics of Czech pollsters. Are they more than paid agents in propaganda wars?

Can anyone ─ including the agencies in question ─ offer plausible explanations?



Ralf Grahn