Czech citizens’ trust in the government is undermined by financial hardship, frequent corruption scandals, and the lack of a feeling that politicians stand up for them, according to an analysis by the Europe in Data project.
Recent data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) show that just 19% of Czechs trust the government.
According to Lukas Vales, a political scientist from the University of West Bohemia in Plzen, a major problem in Czech politics is that political elites often serve business rather than the public interest.
“Those who feel that their voice is not heard trust the government by 36 percentage points less on average than those who feel they have an influence on politics,” said Europe in Data analyst Alexandra Cholevova. “In addition, people who voted for the party at the helm of the government are more likely to trust the political establishment. So are those who are not in financial distress and people with higher education.”
The trend of declining trust in the Czech government can be observed since 2011, the analysis shows. However, the current cabinet of Petr Fiala is faring even worse in the trust ranking than the governments from 2014 to 2020.
“This government, apart from its scandals, has also failed in economic policy,” Vales said. “It made a lot of promises, such as a balanced budget, no tax increases, spending cuts, but it has not delivered on any of them. It holds the top spot in the number of unfulfilled promises, which further undermines trust.”
A more recent STEM poll from April 2025 found that just 3% of Czechs definitely trust the government, and 20% somewhat trust it.
“The basic thing is that the state should function in the areas that people pay for,” Vales said. “If security works, there are enough places in kindergartens and schools, everyone has an accessible GP and there are no long months of waiting for operations, then people have confidence. These ‘little things’ are in fact the key drivers of trust. But the reverse is also true, when the state fails in these things, the trust declines.”
The analysis concluded that the high level of distrust may also stem from the perception that corruption is frequent. According to a recent Eurobarometer poll, 81% of Czechs agreed that there is a problem with corruption in the Czech Republic.
In Transparency International’s ranking, which assesses the situation in 180 countries around the world, the Czech Republic was ranked 46th, along with Grenada, Cyprus and Spain. “It should be taken into account that only a relatively small proportion of Czechs have direct experience of corruption. It is therefore more of a feeling that often influences how politicians or the media talk about corruption than an experience-based assessment,” said Ondrej Kopecny of the Czech branch of Transparency International.
Unlike the Eurobarometer survey, Transparency International’s ranking is based on the opinion of experts on the quality of anti-corruption laws, the ability of public institutions to transparently administer public procurement, and the capacity of the police and courts to detect and punish corruption.
Another link between trust in government and perceptions of corruption is how citizens feel about lobbying, a way of influencing politicians and other public officials to advance one’s interests. In the Czech Republic, the law on lobbying, which came into force at the beginning of July, could narrow this gap between the government and citizens, the analysis suggests.
