Czechs divided on government’s austerity measures

More than three-fourth of Czechs ( 77 percent of those polled)have said they will not take part in next week’s planned strike against lower wages in the public sector although many see it as justified. Forty-six percent of respondents said they support the trade union protest, while thirty-seven percent of those polled said the government had no choice but to implement far-reaching austerity measures. SANEP, the agency that conducted the poll, says that Czechs are generally more inclined to support a welfare state at the expense of higher debts. Trade unions have called a nation-wide strike on December 8th, to protest against the government’s austerity plans despite the fact that the respective bills have already passed through both houses of Parliament and been signed into law by the president.