„A pleasant surprise of the survey was the declared high willingness of students over 18 to participate in the presidential elections. Nearly ninety percent now want to vote. Even if the actual turnout is not that high, other responses in the survey show that young people definitely care about the presidential elections and that many of them are thinking about what kind of president they actually want,“ commented Radek Schich, director of GTS Alive, on the survey results.

The most well-known candidates for students are Andrej Babiš, Danuše Nerudová, and Petr Pavel. Following them with some distance was Karel Janeček in fourth place, who was later rejected by the Ministry of the Interior from participating in the elections due to an insufficient number of valid citizen signatures. Fifth was Pavel Fischer, followed by Marek Hilšer and Josef Středula.

If the elections were held now, Danuše Nerudová would win overwhelmingly among students with 47.3 percent of the votes. She would be followed by Petr Pavel with 22.2 percent and Andrej Babiš with 5.2 percent. Pavel Fischer would be fourth with 3.9 percent, and Marek Hilšer fifth with 2.9 percent. Other candidates have only negligible support. However, nearly 14 percent of students are still undecided about whom to vote for.

What or who do students think has the greatest influence on their opinions of individual presidential candidates and on their decision about whom to vote for? It turns out that traditional media still play a very strong role even among young people, as it was mentioned first by the largest number of students—almost thirty percent. A quarter of respondents said that the election campaigns of individual candidates have the greatest influence. This is followed by parents’ opinions, information from social networks, and the opinions of peers.

Within the survey, students also evaluated the three presidents of the independent Czech Republic so far. The vast majority rate Václav Havel very positively or rather positively. Václav Klaus is mostly rated neutrally, with positive and negative evaluations roughly balanced. Miloš Zeman was rated very negatively or rather negatively by the majority of respondents.

Only secondary school students were asked in the survey whether they discussed the presidential elections at school during lessons. More than half said no, a third said yes but only briefly, and about every eighth student had a more detailed explanation about the presidential elections at school.

This survey on the topic of presidential elections was part of a series of GTS Alive surveys aimed at mapping the attitudes and opinions of Czech students in various areas. The survey was conducted anonymously and online using the Survio tool. Respondents were secondary school and vocational students aged 16 and older, as well as university students. Only students who will have voting rights at the time of the elections answered the question about their plans to participate. The preparation and implementation of the survey were conducted under expert political science supervision.

A selection of typical responses to the open-ended question: “What role do you think the president should play in Czech society?”

(student responses left in their original wording, including typos and spelling errors)

Represent the Czech Republic, not bring shame to our nation, take care of and support all people.

Represent the Czech Republic both internally and externally, participate in foreign policy and within the state especially unify people, not neglect minorities and their rights and duties. Take interest in political and economic affairs, basically be aware of what is happening in society and government.

Represent our state abroad, represent the interests of the Czech Republic abroad, impartially oversee lower politics, unite Czech society.

The role of a parent, because the president will be responsible for millions of people whom they must care for like a parent cares for their child/children and help them in difficult situations, protect them from evil, maintain some balance and defend their people to the last breath. And above all, not believe the opinions of one person or one political party. They should always verify the truthfulness of words.

The president’s role is to seek consensus between the opposition and the government. The government tries to say “We are doing well, so vote for us.” Therefore, it always defends its actions. The opposition wants to say “The government is doing badly, vote for us, we could do better.” For this reason, the opposition always criticizes the government’s actions. I observe that this was the case in the last electoral period, is the case now, and probably will be. The president stands between the opposition and government and should create a rational, objective, and impartial view. Furthermore, they should unify.

The role of a person who will have a reasonable opinion, whom citizens will not be ashamed of and may even be proud of… will stand for the citizens of the state and do everything to make life a little better for people.

Definitely represent the Czech Republic with grace, simultaneously raise its prestige and support its interests. But in my opinion, the person should not only have a representative function, but also be a capable leader who “fights” for the citizens of their country and puts them first (I mean professionally).

A certain “above politics” personality who represents the state, acts politely and honorably with a clear political stance.

In my opinion, the main function of the president in the Czech Republic is to represent the state, not directly to implement changes. Therefore, the president should be a decent person with good manners and should show interest in society.

In times of crisis, the president should unify the nation and not divide unnecessarily or add fuel to the fire. Outside crisis situations, they should act as a controller of the parliament to prevent stupid agreements like those now.

Stand firm. Do not favor parties and cooperate with all.

In society, they should be an absolute social dominant and authority. They should act seriously and charismatically. In other words, they must not become a joke. Unfortunately, that has happened with our current president.

Speak publicly and care about the needs of lower and middle classes. Mainly care about students and people at the age when they plan to acquire family housing, and in this situation, I would appreciate the greatest possible support.

A capable, competent, generally educated, constantly developing, and above all representative leader fluent in Czech, English, German, and Russian. The more languages they speak, the better. They should have a strong urge to improve the standard of living in our country and do their best for its continual development. They should focus on the quality of education and teachers in Czech schools. Although they cannot influence much themselves, they should definitely not be indifferent to it.

Unite the opinions of political parties on the most important issues of the state, represent the Czech Republic in the world, act in favor of Czech citizens.

Rather unify society than divide it unnecessarily. Behave decently and represent the Czech Republic.

Unite the nation, be able to speak out in difficult situations. Given the powers assigned to this position, they should be a good communicator and representative for both internal and external relations. They should strive for as smooth government as possible from their position.

They should be a bridge between the divided Czech society.

They should be the most qualified, the highest-ranking person to whom others will submit and who should behave accordingly.

They should responsibly represent the Czech Republic at international events, unite, not divide citizens, help the government, not throw obstacles in its way, and not veto laws just because they oppose the president’s ideology.

Give a voice to parts of society that are less heard and highlight their problems (Roma, LGBTQ+…), moderate societal debate on divisive topics, dignifiedly represent the state domestically and abroad.

Be closer to people. Listen to them and carry their requests to the government. Engage with ordinary people and meet them, try to unite society. Be politically neutral and an example of a gentleman, setting the standard for the country’s morals and etiquette. Avoid scandals and affairs. Be honest and honorable. Care about decent political culture and respect the traditions of the Czech Republic. Do not perform unnecessary activist acts and do not try to be the center of attention and the darling of the media and people on social networks at all costs.

Act and don’t slack off.

Above all, it should be someone to look up to, whose opinions will not be offensive or generally unacceptable. In society, when the word president is mentioned, the response should be rather positive. Everyone has different opinions and ways of thinking, but the reaction should mostly be positive.

As head of state, they should set moral values and be a role model not only for younger generations but for the whole nation. In dealings with foreign countries, they should be a business card of our society, both morally and in terms of the Czech Republic’s orientation toward the West, NATO, and the EU. They should try not to divide society into two camps as has happened in recent years.

A head of state who takes care of their homeland (because now it is important to focus on our own country first. Put it in order and then address other matters). Represent our homeland positively.

The president should be a person who sets an example for citizens. For a long time, we have lacked someone the Czech society can look up to. It should be an educated and experienced person with a representative appearance and behavior. And at the same time, they should not be afraid to rein in the government a bit. Our society would need a modern Tomáš G. Masaryk.

In my opinion, the president should mainly be representative, after all, the presidential position is more about representing the state than making big changes in governance itself.

Notes for editors:

The company GTS Alive s.r.o. issues and manages student cards ISIC and pupil cards ISIC Školák (ISIC Scholar), teacher cards ITIC, and occasionally other cards in the Czech Republic. The company was established in August 2000. Its predecessor in the Czech Republic was GTS International. GTS Alive s.r.o. is part of the international group GTS Alive Group, headquartered in Prague, with branches in seventeen countries across four continents.

Through the chip identification system ISIC PORT, GTS Alive also provides a number of primary and secondary schools with access security to their buildings and an electronic attendance system. The company also mediates travel or accident insurance for students, among other services.

For more information contact:

• Jan Šimral, media representative of GTS Alive
• Phone: +420 737 944 370
• E-mail: info@jansimral.com