In May survey, the Public Opinion Research Centre investigated whether the respondents confide in selected constitutional bodies. The submitted list included the names of 26 politicians (all members of the government, president, ombudsman, chairmen of Senate and Chamber of Deputies, leaders of parliamentary parties and EU-commissioner Špidla). It is unambiguously president Václav Klaus, who is still viewed as the most trustworthy person among our top politicians.
He enjoys confidence of seven out of ten respondents. The second most trustworthy top politician is the ombudsman Otakar Motejl trusted by 53 % of respondents. Stanislav Gross enjoys confidence of 46 % of citizens. Ministers Petra Buzková and Pavel Dostál follow with the confidence of more than two fifths of citizens. About a third of the respondents confides in minister Sobotka, ODS leader Topolánek and Senate chairman Pithart.
Compared to the results from May 2004 there was a rather significant rise of confidence only in the case of ministers Němec (+6 % points), Dostál (+ 5), Sobotka (+4) and Šimonovský (+5). A more significant drop in public confidence appeared above all in the case of prime minister Gross (-9 % points), Foreign Affairs minister Svoboda (-8 % points) and ex-prime minister Špidla (-5).
In mid-September a substantial part of the respondents (28 to 42 %) did not know numerous members of the government, namely ministers Ambrozek, Šimonovský, Bureš, Palas, Emmerová, Urban and Němec. Some new members of the government - Jahn, Bublan and Paroubek - were unknown to even more than a half of the Czech public.
