Petőcz Kálmán (szerk.): National Populism and Slovak - Hungarian Relations in Slovakia 2006-2009 (Somorja, 2009)

Zsolt Gál: Argentina on the Danube - Populist Economic Policy as the Biggest Enemy of Sustainable Economic Growth

Zsolt Gál

orie and policies; they merely reacted to the social demand, although they did so completely recklessly and irresponsibly from the viewpoint of the country’s long-term development.

Like in the ratio of government-financed and market-financed people, the Czech Republic shows the most favourable indicators in terms of professing paternalistic values. Unlike in Hungary, the right-left economic rift is the decisive political division line within society and there are essential differences in views of particular parties’ supporters. Paternalistic attitudes grow gradually stronger on the right-left political continuum as they are the weakest among supporters of the right-wing Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and the strongest among sympathizers of the Czech and Moravian Communist Party (KSČM); the camps of Christian democrats, liberals and social democrats were located between these two poles.

Table 7

Views of the Czech population regarding social justice and government’s role in economy in 2002 - a breakdown by party affiliation (% of respondents)

Assertions:

Approval/

disapprova

Rate of approval by party affiliation

ODSCoalition

ČSSD

KSČM

The most just way of distributing goods is to give all people equally.

17/79

8.4

13.2

12.1

38.4

If all people have equal opportunities, it is correct that some have more money or property than others.

76/20

81.1

78.3

81.1

66.9

People with low income should receive everything they need for living, even if it means taking money away from those who earn more.

54/36

41.9

50.6

52.4

75.2

Government should guarantee only the necessary minimum; otherwise everyone should take care of themselves.

45/52

72.5

62.8

39.5

18.2

Government should guarantee jobs for all who want to work.

79/16

64.7

65.7

81.5

95.0

There can be no limits imposed on the size of private property.

63/27

79.6

72.4

58.8

33.8

As much state property as possible should be concentrated in private hands.

34/53

53.3

55.3

29.3

5.0

Everything that a society produces must be distributed in a way so that differences between the rich and the poor are not excessive.

53/38

29.4

46.6

61.4

81.0

Market economy is the way toward higher standard of living.

58/23

84.4

70.5

51.7

28.9

Note: Based on two questionnaire surveys carried out on January 21 - 28, 2002 and March 25 - April 2, 2002, on a representative sample of 1,020 and 1,072 persons older than 15, respectively. Approval means that respondents decisively or prevailingly agreed with presented assertions: similarly, disapproval combines answers of "definitively disagree" and "rather disagree". Together they should make up 100% minus percentage of those who answered "I don't know Party abbreviations: ODS - Civil Democratic Party: the coalition comprises KDU-CSL - Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party and US-DEU - Freedom Union-Democratic Union: CSSD - Czech Social Democratic Party: KSCM - Czech and Moravian Communist Party.

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