Poll: Only a third of Czechs trust PM Andrej Babiš for COVID-19 information

Prague, Oct 18 (CTK) - Czechs trust experts the most and PM Andrej Babiš (ANO leader) the least when it comes to information about the COVID-19 epidemic, according to a Kantar.cz poll released on Czech Television (CT).

While more than three-quarters trust experts, in particular epidemiologists, only 36 percent trust COVID-19 information from Babiš.

The public media, Czech television and radio, also enjoy a high trust of 69 and 68 percent of people, respectively. Czech chief public health officer Jarmila Rážová is trusted by 67 percent of people.

Only a half of those polled (52 percent) trust information from Health Minister Roman Prymula (for ANO), who was appointed on September 21.

Trust in Babiš is considerably different according to which political party the respondents support, Kantar CZ analyst Pavel Ranocha said. A total of 88 percent of supporters of Babiš's ANO party showed trust in the Prime Minister.

Among supporters of the Social Democrats (CSSD) and Communists (KSCM), who keep Babiš's minority cabinet afloat, only a half expressed trust in the prime minister.

A mere 15 percent of supporters of the opposition parties showed trust in Babiš, Ranocha pointed out.

Those polled also showed trust in other sources more than Babiš: 51 percent trust information from other radio stations, 45 percent trust Internet news servers and 42 percent consider news from commercial TV stations trustworthy.

The poll was conducted on a sample of 1,200 respondents from September 21 to October 9.