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Czech Republic flag Czech Republic: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of the Czech Republic

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
President: Petr Pavel (since 8 March 2023) - Independent
Prime Minister: Petr Fiala (since 17 December 2021) - ODS
Next Election Dates
Presidential: no later than January 2028
Senate: October 2024
Chamber of Deputies: October 2025
Current Political Context
Following the parliamentary elections in October 2021, a coalition comprised of five parties has been governing the country, with Prime Minister Petr Fiala - the leader of the conservative Civic Democratic Party (ODS) - heading this coalition. The ODS, in collaboration with the Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU-CSL) and Top 09 within the Spolu coalition, has joined forces with the progressive Pirate Party and the centrist Mayors Party. Collectively, they hold sway over 108 out of the 200 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. On the opposing side, the ANO party led by former Prime Minister Andrej Babis commands 72 seats, and the radical right-wing Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) has 20 seats.
Presidential elections took place in January 2023. While incumbent president Miloš Zeman was not eligible to run due to the two-term limit, former army chief Petr Pavel won the presidential election after a campaign featuring strong backing for NATO and the European Union and support for aid to Ukraine, and was sworn in on 9 March 2023.
Even before the conflict in Ukraine, Czech-Russian relations were under tension, and the Russian invasion significantly influenced the foreign policy of the Czech Republic. The newly elected Petr Pavel has raised defence spending to meet the NATO target of 2% of GDP, marking an increase from 1.4% in early 2022. Furthermore, the Czech Republic has actively supported Ukraine by hosting a large number of refugees and offering substantial humanitarian and military assistance.
Main Political Parties

Parties need to secure 5% of the vote in order to obtain parliamentary representation. The country's main political parties are:
Executive Power
The President is the chief of state and is elected by direct public vote for a five-year term. The President has limited specific powers, the most important of which are to return enacted laws to the Parliament and to dissolve the Parliament under specific constitutionally outlined conditions. The President appoints the Prime Minister and the Cabinet based on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is the head of the government and holds executive powers, including the right to set the agenda for most foreign policies and to choose governmental ministers. The Prime Minister is generally the head of the majority party or coalition in the Parliament and carries considerable political power.
Legislative Power
The legislature is bicameral. The Parliament consists of: the Senate (the upper house), its 81 members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms (with one-third of its members elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house) with its 200 members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The executive branch is dependent on parliamentary support. The Prime Minister cannot dissolve the parliament without the approval of both the President and the members of the Parliament.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition
Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
40/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition
Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Free
Political Freedom:
1/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: April 2024