69% of inhabitants assessed the standard of living of their household as being good, whilst 29% assesses it as being bad. Materialistic life conditions of their households are considered to be good by 35% of respondents, neither good nor bad by 45%, and bad by 19%. The perception of the standard of living and materialistic living conditions is improving with increasing income and increasing level of education of the respondent.

Today, more than a half of respondents (56 %) express satisfaction with their personal life, 29 % are "neither satisfied nor dissatisfied" and with 14 % dissatisfaction dominates. In the last five years these figures have changed only minimally. The survey also focused on prevalence of optimism and scepticism from the point of view of the respondents’ own future, and future of those close to them, the future of the population of the CZ and mankind as such.

In its regular March survey, the Public Opinion Research Centre concentrated among other things on the opinions of citizens regarding the length of sentences for some selected criminal acts, moreover on views about at which degree sentences imposed by courts are adequate and last but not least the question of if capital punishment should exist or not. We consider sentences imposed by court to be more likely inadequate, particularly in the case of violent criminal activities.

What is the picture of crime structure in the eyes of the Czech public? Does it correspond to reality, or is it distorted by the influence of media news or personal experience? And what is the notion of the success rate of the police when investigating some criminal acts? Is it rather underestimated or on the contrary overestimated by the public? These are some of the issues dealt with by the March survey, carried out by Public Opinion Research Centre.

Currently, 38% of respondents are satisfied and 21 % dissatisfied with the way the police look after the order and safety of citizens in their neighbourhood. Another 38% are “neither satisfied, nor dissatisfied” with the activities of the police. Moreover, the research concentrated on how safe citizens felt in their neighbourhoods and inside their homes. The performed survey has shown that the feeling of safety in one’s own home has changed only relatively little in the course of the last five years: most citizens feel safe during the day, even after dark; however the feeling grows weaker after dusk.

The best results – with an average mark lower than 3 – were achieved by media and the chairman of the Chamber of Deputies. The worst marks of all the monitored institutions were scored by the Senate, KSČM and US – DEU (average marks above the 3.5 level in all these cases). In comparison to last year’s survey there has been a relatively significant improvement in the trustworthiness level of media, Chamber of Deputies chairman, ODS and KSČM.

The number of declared participants of the referendum has not changed much since November; it still ranges between 77 - 80 % of people with the voting right. Neither was there a different distribution of votes between the groups for and against, the approximate division of respondents has remained the same: 60 % for, 20 % against, 20 % do not know. A half of the people want the EURO, a third rejects it.

The survey results reveal that we derive most pleasure from being given a present. This is followed by an afternoon’s relaxation with a cup of good coffee or tea, and by an evening spent in front of a TV. In general, we consider waiting for a late bus more annoying than getting up in the morning. The latter is, however, resented by younger generations in particular. Organisations conducting surveys of public opinion will be pleased to learn that we consider answering survey questions considerably less irritating than waiting for a late bus or getting up in the morning.

As regards the activities of the state, there is widespread belief that no major developments occurred during last year. 45% to 58% of respondents are of the opinion that no progress was made in respect of the protection of human rights, fight with crime, immigration policy, economic and foreign policy and environmental care. The greatest criticism is levelled against the employment policy (64%) and the agricultural policy (47%).

The attack on Iraq is generally supported by a mere 21 % of Czech citizens, while 72 % disagree with it. Support for the attack without the mandate of the Security Council of the UN is even lower. In such a case, 10 % of respondents expressed their agreement with the attack, 83 % were against. Only 18 % of people think that the attack on Iraq will bring positive effects in relation to suppressing international terrorism, on the other hand 70 % are of the opinion that the war will not contribute to fighting world terrorism in any way.