Of the various national groups living in the Czech Republic, sympathy for Arabs, Greeks, Jews and Serbs has declined compared to last year, according to a February survey by the Center for Public Opinion Research (CVVM). As in previous surveys, people continued to express the most sympathy for ethnic Czechs and Slovaks and the least sympathy for Romani people.
CVVM included 17 nationalities in the survey and Czechs were the group to which others were compared. While sympathies for Greeks and Jews did fall, they still belong among the five most-liked national minorities in the Czech Republic.
Greeks are reportedly viewed sympathetically by 37 % of people, while 15 % expressed lack of sympathy for them. Jews are viewed sympathetically by 31 % of those surveyed, with 17 % expressing lack of sympathy for them.
Slovaks, by far the favorite group, have an 84 % sympathy rating among respondents, according to the survey. Only 2 % stated no sympathy for them.
Poles then following in the rankings, with more than half of respondents expressing sympathy for them. The Greeks came in third place, ahead of the Germans, Jews, Hungarians and Bulgarians.
In the case of the Chinese, the Serbs, and the Vietnamese, antipathy predominates over sympathy, although the greatest proportion of respondents stated a neutral evaluation ("neither sympathetic nor unsympathetic") for these groups, according to the CVVM. Albanians, Arabs, Romanians, Russians and Ukrainians are not viewed favorably by the largest proportion of people.
More than half of respondents expressed dislike for Albanians and Arabs. "The significantly worst relationship declared by citizens was toward Romani people, with more than four out of five respondents expressing no sympathy for them," the authors of the survey report.
Only 4 % of those surveyed expressed any sympathy for Romani people. The CVVM reports that the deterioration in perceptions of the Greeks, Jews and Serbs is a return to the numbers reported by a March survey in 2013.
It is not possible to compare sympathy rates for Arabs, because two years ago they were not part of the survey. Compared to 2014, no nationality has improved its results.
"In comparison with 2013, we can see a certain improvement for the Chinese, the Ukrainians, the Vietnamese and also for Czechs themselves," reports the CVVM. Earlier this week the results of a different survey by the CVVM found that the number of Czechs who believe foreigners should not have the option of residing long-term in the Czech Republic has risen.
Compared to March 2014, the number of people sharing that opinion has risen by 5 % to 16 %. This is the highest such rating in that category since 2007.
Compared to last year, more Czechs now also disagree with making it possible for anyone who wants to live in the Czech Republic to do so. The survey was undertaken during the first 10 days of February among 1 069 people aged 15 and over.
