Středoevropské politické studie / Central European Political Studies Review www.journals.muni.cz/cepsr Ročník XIX (2017), Číslo
(c)Mezinárodní politologický ústav / International Institute of Political Science DOI: 10.5817/CEPSR.2017.34.243
Electoral Support for the Czech Green Party in Relation to
MICHAL PINK, ONDŘEJ SAX AND ANDREA SMOLKOVÁ1
Abstract: The article analyses the relationship between electoral support of the Green Party in the Czech Republic and the level of
Keywords: Czech Green Party;
1. Introduction
The introduction of a liberal democratic political regime in the Czech Republic has resulted in free competition between political parties in regularly recurring elections. A party system has gradually established itself, in which the main political parties have established positions; thus, the Czech political landscape increasingly resembles the established regimes of Western Europe. In addition to the large political parties, the smaller Green Party has progressively asserted itself; indeed, in organizational terms, it is now one of the longest established parties in the Czech electoral arena. Since its foundation in 1989, it has undergone development and witnessed changes to both personnel and programmes. It has also seen reversals of fortune: transitioning from a marginal party during the
1 All authors: Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University,
Joštova 10, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic.
243
Electoral Support for the Czech Green Party in Relation to
1990s to a member of the government coalition in
Representing environmental interests in Czech party politics, the Green Party is a full member of the European Green Party and the Global Greens. Yet the question remains: are the areas it draws support from, and its voters, comparable to those of other „green‟ parties in Europe and worldwide? If the Czech Republic is now a fully consolidated democracy (Møller 2009; Balík et al. 2008) does this also mean that 25 years after the fall of the communist regime, the Czech electoral arena is now ready for a
Our main objective is to answer the following question: Is there a relationship between the election results of the Czech Green Party and the proportion of voters with
The article is divided into several sections. After this introduction follows a presentation of the Green Party and its possible programmatic links with post-
2.Ronald Inglehart’s Concept of
It may at first glance seem somewhat paradoxical that while Inglehart defined the
244
Michal Pink, Ondřej Sax and Andrea Smolková
research conducted with voters in France, Italy, and the Netherlands; i.e. a sample
of voters from Western democracies constituting typical examples of Inglehart‟s
Inglehart was relatively skilful in classifying the
Since Inglehart denies that
Although Inglehart only considers
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Electoral Support for the Czech Green Party in Relation to
Party being one such party. In part, this is a response to the long years of the communist regime.
On the subject of
Admittedly, Inglehart‟s notion of
3. Data and Sources
Methodologically, our research faced certain limitations from the outset, most notably the limited accessibility of data necessary in order to undertake the analysis. More importantly, we needed to face the fact that we would be working
246
Michal Pink, Ondřej Sax and Andrea Smolková
with aggregated data: the research does not deal with individual voters, but with data collected for the observed municipalities, that is, with election results and
All the conclusions obtained will therefore be valid for the territorial units observed, and not for the level of the individual voters. By emphasizing this fact, we seek to avoid committing the regrettably frequent ecological fallacy. Nonetheless, work with aggregated data is a standard procedure in election studies (for examples of Czech scholarship, see Kostelecký 2009; Jehlička et al 2011), and when interpreted correctly, such data facilitates examination of the influence of a range of variables on electoral support for parties.
Our article employs classical statistical methods. The first important step is to determine the coefficient of variation, which shows the extent of the variability of data in relation to the mean (Hendl 2006). The coefficient of variation will help us establish whether, and to what degree, regional variability changes. Thus, having calculated the coefficient of variation, we will be able to ascertain whether the differences between the units studied increased, decreased, or remained the same. Correlation analysis will be applied as part of the next step, for which purpose the Pearson‟s coefficient of correlation was adopted. With the help of this coefficient, we will be able to ascertain the relationship between the spatial distribution of electoral support, and selected variables that may influence the
247
Electoral Support for the Czech Green Party in Relation to
a. Selecting the Indicators
As Rabušic (2000) stated, when studying value orientations, the problem is always encountered, that values cannot be observed directly; thus, one must study indicators thereof. Drawing on the existing knowledge of the topic, as summarized above, we have selected five indicators characterizing the typical
LOWER AGE
Inglehart‟s original thesis about intergenerational value change assumed two relationships between age and values. The younger generations tend to espouse more
MIDDLE AND UPPER CLASS/INCOME
Inglehart indicates that the
248
Michal Pink, Ondřej Sax and Andrea Smolková
suppress them.2 Most applicable to this article are
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
University education is linked to growing affluence in society. When young people extend their education this is an indicator that it is no longer necessary for them to seek gainful employment as early as possible in their lives. According to Inglehart, it is also one of the defining characteristics of
SIZE OF MUNICIPALITY (CITY)
As indicated above, the profile of the Czech
2The communist regime persecuted not only capital owners, but also those with higher education and the
249
Electoral Support for the Czech Green Party in Relation to
the municipality in which such voter lives is no exception to this; we assume that larger cities feature a higher concentration of
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
Another key indicator linked with
4. The Czech Green Party
a. Electoral gains
The work of Jehlička, Kostelecký and Kunštát (2011) provided a basic overview of the workings of the Czech Green Party; therefore, we limit ourselves here to a brief recapitulation of how this environmental party fares in the Czech situation.
Activities undertaken by various pacific and environmental movements, in what is today the Czech Republic, can be traced back to dissident circles active prior to 1989. The first Green party was established in Czechoslovakia in November 1989, under the name the Czechoslovak Green Party. However, due to internal disputes, personal issues, and organizational shortcomings, it was quickly discredited in the eyes of the electorate. For several years, disputes and a lack of unity characterized the party. It was only at the turn of the millennium that the Green Party began to transform itself ideologically, distancing itself from nuclear power, demanding better protection of minorities, civil partnership for
250
Michal Pink, Ondřej Sax and Andrea Smolková
its operations and was able to develop a range of its activities further. The Green Party witnessed its greatest success in the 2006 election, when, led by Martin Bursík, it crossed the 5% threshold, and subsequently entered
Table 1: Gains of the Green Party in elections to the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament
Year |
Number of |
Number of valid |
Number of |
Green Party‟s |
Seats |
|
voters |
votes cast |
votes cast for |
share of the |
|
|
|
|
the Green Party |
vote |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1996 |
7,990,770 |
6,059,215 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1998 |
8,116,863 |
5,969,505 |
67,143 |
1.12 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2002 |
8,264,484 |
4,768,006 |
112,929 |
2.36 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2006 |
8,333,305 |
5,348,976 |
336,487 |
6.29 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2010 |
8,415,892 |
5,230,859 |
127,831 |
2.44 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2013 |
8,424,227 |
4,969,984 |
159,025 |
3.19 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Source: Official electoral data website of the Czech Statistical office (www.volby.cz).
Table 2: Descriptive characteristics of Green Party’s gains in elections to the Chamber of Deputies (N = 6,241)
Year |
Mean |
Median |
Mode |
Standard |
Variance |
Min. |
Max. |
|
|
|
|
deviation |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2006 |
4.82 |
4.58 |
0.00 |
2.61 |
6,81 |
0.00 |
32.96 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2010 |
1.69 |
1.49 |
0.00 |
1.47 |
2.16 |
0.00 |
30.30 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2013 |
2.15 |
1.94 |
0.00 |
1.67 |
2.78 |
0.00 |
17.07 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Source: www.volby.cz, authors‟ calculation.
251
Electoral Support for the Czech Green Party in Relation to
Table 2 summarizes the results achieved by the Green Party in the three elections to the Chamber of Deputies studied. The variables provided cover all the municipalities. The mode, which is the value that appears most often in a set of data, has been zero for all three elections. In other words, in a large number of municipalities throughout the Czech Republic the Green Party has failed to win a single vote. The median, which is the value that splits the data set observed into two halves, was lowest in 2010, and highest in 2006 (when the party won six seats). The values of the mean have always been somewhat higher than the values of the median. The standard deviation indicates a concentration of data around the mean. The lower the value of the standard deviation, the higher the concentration around the mean. This phenomenon was particularly conspicuous in the most recent election in 2013.
Table 3: Variability in electoral support for the Green Party (N = 6,241)
|
2006 |
2010 |
2013 |
|
|
|
|
Coefficient of |
0.54 |
0.87 |
0.78 |
variation |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Source: www.volby.cz, authors‟ calculation.
In Table 3, the coefficient of variation indicates the territorial variability of electoral support: the higher its value, the more support for the party varies across municipalities. The values of the coefficient are relatively high for all three elections, indicating that electoral support for the party has spread unevenly across the country. The values for the coefficient of variation correspond with the values presented in the previous table, in particular, the value of the mode, and that of the minimum share of vote won. In other words, this tells us that there are municipalities where the Green Party obtained zero votes. In order to further elucidate and understand the continuity between the three elections studied, we present a correlation analysis.
Table 4: Stability of the Green Party’s electoral base (N = 6,241)
|
2006 |
2010 |
2013 |
|
|
|
|
2006 |
1 |
0.685 |
0.654 |
|
|
|
|
2010 |
0.685 |
1 |
0.824 |
|
|
|
|
2013 |
0.654 |
0.824 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
Note: Figures in the table represent Pearson‟s coefficient of correlation; weighted by the population living in municipalities in 2010.
Source: www.volby.cz, authors‟ calculation.
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Michal Pink, Ondřej Sax and Andrea Smolková
Using the values of Pearson‟s coefficient of correlation, Table 4 illustrates the stability of the Green Party‟s electoral base over the three most recent elections to the Chamber of Deputies. The values reveal that the relationship between the various electoral results analysed is fairly high and the municipalities with higher support for Green Party in one election could vote for Green Party next time.
b. Indicators of
Using a correlation analysis, we now present the relationship between the electoral gains of the Green Party and the selected contextual factors representing the five indicators of
Table 5: Correlations between electoral support and indic. of
|
2006 |
2010 |
2013 |
|
|
|
|
Lower age |
0.066 |
0.085 |
|
|
|
|
|
Middle and upper |
0.401 |
0.500 |
0.581 |
class/income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
University education |
0.601 |
0.708 |
0.803 |
|
|
|
|
City |
0.478 |
0.520 |
0.559 |
|
|
|
|
Unemployment rate |
|||
|
|
|
|
Note: weighted by the population living in municipalities in 2010.
Source: www.volby.cz, www.czso.cz, www.mpsv.cz, authors‟ calculation.
The overall results indicate that, out of a total of five indicators of post- materialism, there is a moderate relationship between each other. The indicators that do not appear relate to the Green Party‟s election results are the following: lower age and unemployment rate.
Let us proceed to a linear regression in order to express the relationships among the variables more precisely. Table 6 summarizes the values of the beta coefficient, indicating how far the value of the explained variable changes when the value of an independent variable is shifted by one unit. The dependent variable here
253
Electoral Support for the Czech Green Party in Relation to
is the electoral gains of the Green Party in 2006, 2010 and 2013. There are five independent variables, consisting of the indicators of
Table 6: Parameters of regression model estimating the Green Party election results in municipalities in the Czech Republic (N = 6,241)
|
|
2006 |
|
2010 |
|
2013 |
|||
|
Beta |
|
St. Beta |
Beta |
|
St. Beta |
Beta |
|
St. Beta |
Constant |
4.613 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Lower age |
0.104 |
|
0.063 |
0.025 |
|
0.027 |
|
||
Middle and upper class |
|
0.019 |
|
0.150 |
0.035 |
|
0.211 |
||
/income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
University education |
0.156 |
|
0.391 |
0.120 |
|
0.530 |
0.189 |
|
0.622 |
City |
0.834 |
|
0.182 |
0.325 |
|
0.123 |
0.308 |
|
0.087 |
Unemployment rate |
|
0.000 |
|
0.035 |
|
0.056 |
|||
Index of determination |
|
0.400 |
|
0.517 |
0.662 |
Note: weighted by the population living in municipalities in 2006, 2010 and 2013.
Source: www.volby.cz, www.czso.cz, www.mpsv.cz, authors‟ calculation.
Having summarized the beta coefficient, the relationships between electoral support for the Green Party and the indicators are noteworthy, demanding further study: „university education‟, and „city‟. In relation to the most recent elections to the Chamber of Deputies 2013, we can predict that an increase of one unit in the proportion of members of the university education increase 0,20 % of votes for Green Party. For the variables „city‟ is it less important and „lower unemployment rate‟, no important and positive causal relationship has been established at the level of municipalities on national scale; however, the relationship will be studied further at the lower level of two Czech regions. The variables cited will be evaluated in the conclusion, where answers to the research questions are provided.
c. Analysis of Selected Regions
In order to understand election results across the country and the variables that influence them better, it is necessary to focus on smaller territorial units. We have
254
Michal Pink, Ondřej Sax and Andrea Smolková
chosen higher territorial
A brief glance at the table indicates that the party obtained its greatest gains in Prague,4 with a margin of almost two percentage points over other regions, with high percentage gains also recorded in the regions of Liberec and Central Bohemia. These two regions are therefore analysed in greater detail in the next section. The table also shows that the Green Party is comparatively more successful in Bohemia than in Moravia and Silesia.
Table 7: Electoral results of the Green Party in regions (in %)
|
2006 |
2010 |
2013 |
Prague |
9.19 |
4.78 |
6.45 |
|
|
|
|
Central Bohemia |
6.00 |
2.32 |
3.70 |
|
|
|
|
South Bohemia |
5.90 |
2.17 |
2.46 |
|
|
|
|
Plzeň |
5.91 |
1.71 |
2.29 |
|
|
|
|
Karlovy Vary |
6.71 |
2.08 |
2.28 |
|
|
|
|
Ústí nad Labem |
6.03 |
2.41 |
2.68 |
|
|
|
|
Liberec |
9.58 |
2.60 |
2.54 |
|
|
|
|
Hradec Králové |
6.69 |
2.50 |
2.87 |
|
|
|
|
Pardubice |
6.26 |
1.86 |
2.53 |
|
|
|
|
Vysočina |
4.89 |
1.68 |
2.60 |
|
|
|
|
South Moravia |
6.20 |
2.34 |
3.27 |
|
|
|
|
Olomouc |
5.51 |
1.80 |
2.32 |
|
|
|
|
Zlín |
5.07 |
1.80 |
2.34 |
|
|
|
|
4.34 |
1.93 |
2.39 |
|
|
|
|
|
Source: www.volby.cz, authors‟ calculation.
3 For reasons of clarity of presentation and orientation in the results obtained, the analyses undertaken are recorded here in a simplified manner, with less detail provided than for those at the national level. For example, when analysing the regions descriptive statistics are entirely omitted and the results of the correlation analysis are not recorded. This especially concerns cases where the results of the correlation analysis were confirmed by regression analysis, with the regression analysis affording greater precision to the results.
4The capital, Prague, represents a specific research area. It would be methodologically imprecise to treat it as a single municipality; it is much more suitable to study its boroughs, or even electoral wards. There is, however, no space to do that here; hence, we have decided to omit Prague from our study.
255
Electoral Support for the Czech Green Party in Relation to
CENTRAL BOHEMIA
Central Bohemia, one of the Czech Republic‟s largest regions, is characterized by its close links with Prague. Although in terms of geography Prague lies at the centre of the Central Bohemia region, it is in fact a distinct higher territorial
Prague‟s inhabitants seek recreation in Central Bohemia. The interconnection with Prague is fundamental to Central Bohemia and is not limited to economic matters.
To clarify the situation, we once again present the values of the coefficient of variation, which are relatively high for all cases. Thus, it cannot be stated that electoral support for the Green Party is spread uniformly across the municipalities of Central Bohemia. In fact, the opposite holds true: municipalities can be located with very low and very high support. The value of the coefficient was highest in 2010, indicating a presence in Central Bohemia of municipalities, where the Green Party commanded important support, as well as in others where it commanded hardly any. Therefore, it can be stated that the support for the Green Party in Central Bohemia has not been territorially homogeneous.
Table 8: Variability in electoral support for the Green Party in Central Bohemia (N = 1,144)
|
2006 |
2010 |
2013 |
|
|
|
|
Coefficient of variation |
0.47 |
0.75 |
0.63 |
|
|
|
|
Source: www.volby.cz, authors‟ calculation.
Table 9 shows the values for the coefficient of correlation. A positive relationship exists between all the election results in Central Bohemia, and the value of the coefficient is substantial in every case. Graphical representations of electoral support for the Green Party in all three elections would be expected to overlap, creating a fairly homogeneous map of territorial support, which contrasts with results obtained at the national level. We can examine individual tendencies in greater detail, using a regression model focused on the influence of selected indicators.
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Michal Pink, Ondřej Sax and Andrea Smolková
Table 9: Stability of the Green Party’s electoral base in Central Bohemia (N = 1,144)
|
2006 |
2010 |
2013 |
|
|
|
|
2006 |
1 |
0.466 |
0.456 |
|
|
|
|
2010 |
0.466 |
1 |
0.595 |
|
|
|
|
2013 |
0.456 |
0.595 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
Note: weighted by the population living in municipalities in 2010.
Source: www.volby.cz, authors‟ calculation.
A regression analysis of the causal relationship between the Green Party‟s electoral gains and the indicators of
Table 10: Influence of indicators on the Green Party’s electoral gains in Central Bohemia (N = 1,144)
|
|
2006 |
|
2010 |
|
2013 |
|||
|
Beta |
|
St. Beta |
Beta |
|
St. Beta |
Beta |
|
St. Beta |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Constant |
1.552 |
|
|
|
|
1.452 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lower age |
0.111 |
|
0.120 |
0.020 |
|
0.033 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Middle and upper class |
0.012 |
|
0.077 |
0.008 |
|
0.087 |
0.003 |
|
0.026 |
/income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
University education |
0.152 |
|
0.389 |
0.119 |
|
0.499 |
0.188 |
|
0.591 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
City |
0.654 |
|
0.121 |
|
0.317 |
|
0.064 |
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unemployment rate |
0.003 |
|
0.005 |
0.013 |
|
0.045 |
0.001 |
|
0.002 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Index of determination |
|
0.214 |
|
0.290 |
0,377 |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: weighted by the population living in municipalities in 2006, 2010 and 2013.
Data source: www.volby.cz, www.czso.cz, www.mpsv.cz, authors‟ calculation.
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Electoral Support for the Czech Green Party in Relation to
The somewhat different interpretation of the outputs of the statistical analysis for the Central Bohemia region presented above can be explained by reference to the ring of electoral support for the Green Party around the capital (see Table 11). The districts
Table 11: Influence of indicators on the Green Party’s electoral gains around Prague (N = 189)
|
|
2006 |
|
2010 |
|
2013 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Beta |
|
St. Beta |
Beta |
|
St. Beta |
Beta |
|
St. Beta |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Constant |
0.480 |
|
|
1.376 |
|
|
0.751 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lower age |
0.214 |
|
0.228 |
0.039 |
|
0.058 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Middle and upper class |
0.016 |
|
0.064 |
0.000 |
|
0.000 |
0.010 |
|
0.054 |
/income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
University education |
0.119 |
|
0.317 |
0.126 |
|
0.487 |
0.139 |
|
0.470 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unemployment rate |
|
|
0.244 |
|
0.196 |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Index of determination |
|
0.197 |
|
0.244 |
|
0.286 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: weighted by the population living in municipalities in 2006, 2010 and 2013.
Source: www.volby.cz, www.czso.cz, www.mpsv.cz, authors‟ calculation.
LIBEREC REGION
The position of the Liberec region is apparently less economically advantageous than that of Central Bohemia, and the commuting distance to the capital is much greater. Located at the very north of the Czech Republic, Liberec is one of the country‟s smaller regions in terms of area and population, that is, less than 450,0005. It consists of the districts Česká Lípa, Jablonec nad Nisou, Liberec and Semily. Formerly, the region was characterised by widespread industry and mining in Stráž pod Ralskem.
5Czech Statistical Office in annual report 31. 12. 2013 (https://www.czso.cz/csu/xl).
258
Michal Pink, Ondřej Sax and Andrea Smolková
Table 12 summarizes the values of the coefficient, indicating variability in electoral support for the Green Party in the municipalities of the Liberec region. It shows that in the 2010 election, when the Green Party fared the worst out of the three elections analysed, its results where highly heterogeneous across the region. In the other two elections, the variability of its electoral support in the Liberec region was less pronounced.
Table 12: Variability in electoral support for the Green Party in the Liberec region (N = 215)
|
2006 |
2010 |
2013 |
|
|
|
|
Coefficient of |
0.45 |
1.00 |
0.57 |
variation |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Source: www.volby.cz, authors‟ calculation.
The values of Pearson‟s correlation coefficient provided in Table 13 reveal that the stability of the Green Party‟s electoral base in the municipalities of the Liberec region is not low. In all cases, the values of the coefficient testify to intermediate relationship. A regression analysis of the causal relationship between the Green Party‟s electoral gains and the indicators of
Table 13: Stability of the Green Party’s electoral base in the Liberec region (N = 215)
|
2006 |
2010 |
2013 |
2006 |
1 |
0.455 |
0.358 |
2010 |
0.455 |
1 |
0.542 |
2013 |
0.358 |
0.542 |
1 |
Note: weighted by the population living in municipalities in 2010.
Source: www.volby.cz, authors‟ calculation.
Similar to the previous case, Table 14 shows the significance of the causal relationship. The best position belongs to university education, others are not so important or unstable. A more substantial influence can only be observed for the variable „university education‟, where an increase by one unit would improve the gains of the Green Party by about 0,6 a percentage point in 2006, in other elections is it less. And also in this year the share of explain variability is highest.
259
Electoral Support for the Czech Green Party in Relation to
Table 14: Influence of indicators on the Green Party’s electoral gains in Liberec region (N = 215)
|
|
2006 |
|
2010 |
|
2013 |
|||
|
Beta |
|
St. Beta |
Beta |
|
St. Beta |
Beta |
|
St. Beta |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Constant |
3.776 |
|
|
1.551 |
|
|
1.160 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lower age |
0.199 |
|
0.095 |
|
0.128 |
|
0.193 |
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Middle and upper class |
|
|
|
||||||
/income |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
University education |
0.615 |
|
0.760 |
0.261 |
|
0.763 |
0.180 |
|
0.777 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
City |
0.232 |
|
0.041 |
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unemployment rate |
0.388 |
|
0.385 |
|
0.024 |
|
0.054 |
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Index of determination |
|
0.462 |
|
0.291 |
|
0.265 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: weighted by the population living in municipalities in 2006, 2010 and 2013.
Source: www.volby.cz, www.czso.cz, www.mpsv.cz, authors‟ calculation.
6. Conclusion
In this paper, we have sought to answer the following question: Has there been in Czech society – described in a number of studies as a
In the introduction, we established the basic objectives of this study and the research questions it sought to answer; here we evaluate the results. We defined five indicators of
260
Michal Pink, Ondřej Sax and Andrea Smolková
of the population for members of, respectively, the middle and the upper classes, and those with university education. By contrast, for the variables „city‟ and „unemployment rate‟, no correlation was established. A regression analysis produced similar outcomes: greatest influence was repeatedly recorded for the
variables „university education‟. The findings were particularized further at lower
levels in two regions, Central Bohemia and Liberec, and in two districts, Prague- West and
„university education‟, a small but positive influence from the variables „lower age‟ in 2006.
For the two districts around Prague, it is possible to state that a lower unemployment rate; a higher proportion of the university educated; and, to a smaller degree, a higher proportion of younger voters in 2006, have all positively influenced electoral support for the Green Party. Thus, we can state in conclusion that there is a relationship between votes for the Green Party and municipalities with more
The findings cited indicate that there are connections and influences between
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