January 2000
› Excerpt from “Central European Public Opinion”,
a special issue of “Polish Public Opinion”, created and published
by CBOS
In many ways Central Europe may be described as a burgeoning region: its
population has well-developed consumer aspirations but is still unable
to satisfy them fully. Dissatisfaction with current material living
conditions prevails in each of the societies covered by this study.
HOW WOULD YOU EVALUATE YOUR CURRENT MATERIAL
LIVING CONDITIONS?
Those most satisfied with their material standards of living are the
Czechs. As with elsewhere, the majority of respondents rate their own
material situation as average, i.e. neither good nor bad. Unlike the
remaining societies, however, the Czechs are slightly more often
satisfied than dissatisfied with their material situation. In terms of
satisfaction with their standards of living, the Poles come second. The
Hungarians, on the other hand, are much less content with their current
situation: not only do they rate their current material situation more
negatively than the Poles, and particularly the Czechs, but they are
also very seldom satisfied with the standards of living they have
achieved so far. An equally small proportion of Lithuanian respondents
declare satisfaction with current material living conditions. They are
most often of the four nations dissatisfied with their living
conditions.
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MATERIAL LIVING CONDITIONS WILL
BE LIKE WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR?
In all four countries respondents tend to rate the chances of improving
their material living conditions within the coming year pessimistically
rather than optimistically. The Czechs are both most optimistic and most
satisfied with their current material situation. But even among them
more respondents expect their living conditions to deteriorate rather
than improve, whereas the majority expect no changes at all. Lithuanians
are clearly more pessimistic than three others nations.
HOW WOULD YOU EVALUATE ECONOMIC SITUATION
IN YOUR COUNTRY?
Ratings of the development of the economic situation in general are not
good either. Regardless of the country, only a negligible proportion of
respondents expressed their positive evaluation of economy. The
proportion of positive evaluations was largest in Poland and smallest in
Lithuania and the Czech Republic.
Lithuanians are the most pessimistic of the four nations about the
future of their economy. Remaining three countries do not differ very
much in this respect, Hungarians being a bit more optimistic than Poles
and Czechs.
WHAT DO YOU THINK THE ECONOMIC SITUATION
IN YOUR COUNTRY WILL BE THE NEXT YEAR?
