The European Parliament. (source: TASR/AP)
More than a third of all V4 countries' residents think that external attempts to influence the European Parliament elections due to be held in early June are a major problem, according to a recent CEDMO survey carried out in Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
In Slovakia, 31 percent of residents think outside influence is a big problem, 35 percent say it is a small problem and the remaining 34 percent do not consider it a problem.
Meanwhile, 39 percent of Slovaks believe the European Union will try to influence the elections, followed by the US (38 percent) and Russia (36 percent). This is a stark contrast to Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, in which 63 percent, 54 percent and 44 percent of residents, respectively, believe Russia will try to influence the elections.
Perception of influence on the EP elections as a problem. (source: CEDMO hub)
Pessimism felt among Slovak people
The survey also showed that about a fifth of Slovaks are satisfied with democracy while 67 percent think that most politicians are corrupt and 50 percent say it does not matter who wins elections because nothing will change.
In terms of election participation, 62 percent of Slovaks said they planned to vote in the election. In comparison, 78 percent of Poles, 68 percent of Hungarians and 61 percent of Czechs want to vote.
The survey comes as several hoaxes related to the elections have begun spreading. In Slovakia, these have included fake news such as that the European Union is imposing new foods, including genetically modified organisms, insects and cockroach milk, on its member states, such as genetically modified organisms, or that Brussels has decided to completely ban internal combustion engines after 2035.
The elections in Slovakia will be held on June 8.
In Slovakia, the Ipsos agency surveyed 1,006 respondents from March 28 to April 3.
CEDMO Trends Slovakia
CEDMO Trends SR runs for 24 months. CEDMO has been conducting the research in Slovakia from August 2023 in cooperation with IPSOS agency and with financial support from Google on a representative sample of more than 1,900 respondents over 16 years of age.
