Czechs Vote for Czexit

iDnes.cz readers narrowly vote in favor of the country leaving the European Union in online poll

Dave Park

Written by Dave Park Published on 21.06.2016 16:55:05 (updated on 21.06.2016) Reading time: 1 minute

Daily News

As the Brexit vote fast approaches and the UK citizens decide whether their country will stay in the European Union, those in other EU countries might be wondering what would happen if they had their say.

A few months ago, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka speculated that the “Czech Republic ‘will follow Britain out of EU’.” 

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Over the past few days, media server iDnes.cz asked users whether they would for or against that idea in an informal poll more than 100,000 users participated in.

It was a tight vote. Ultimately, 47% of readers voted in favour of the Czech Republic staying in the European Union, with 53% voting for a Czexit. 

The server notes, however, that the vote may not represent an accurate cross-section of Czech society: 84% of the voters identified themselves as male, with only 16% female. A true referendum, should it occur, would theoretically feature an equal male-female breakdown.

Still, the popularity of Czech membership in the EU has apparently dipped sharply in recent years. While 77% of citizens voted for membership in a 2003 referendum, 52% of those polled in 2015 had confidence in the EU, and that number fell to 37% earlier this year. 

The poll asked not only if readers would be in favour of a Czechit, but also their opinions on a variety of pros and cons of EU membership.

Those included the free movement of goods and also citizens between member states, opportunities to work abroad, coordinated foreign and security policies, and other potential benefits.

iDnes.cz promises further analysis to come tomorrow.

Should the Czech Republic hold a referendum on EU membership?

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