Low turnout comes as no surprise, but how Eurosceptic are Czech voters?

It's still too early for concrete results, but what the exit polls do seem to indicate clearly, is an extremely low turnout, at around 27%. Adam Cerny from the newspaper Hospodarske noviny has been studying the polls.

Photo: CTK

"You're right, 27% turnout is very low, but I think the explanation is understandable, because we are in the middle of the electoral mandate. That's the first point. The subject of the election is a European one, but the situation, as I've said, the reaction of the electorate is towards the domestic government. So there is some I don't want to say schizophrenia, but not direct link between the European subject of this election and the motivation of the decision. I think it makes the decision of the electorate to go to vote very difficult."

But, nonetheless, when you look back to recent Czech history, the euphoria of when communism fell and the optimism that one day we'll be in the European Union - here we are in the European Union, with the first ever European elections, and only a quarter of the electorate seems to be interested.

"I think that you should not forget that we are fourteen years after the fall of communism, so the first euphoria is far away or gone. Now we are in day-by-day business. And I think also that the entry into the European Union came a little bit late, I would say. So we are not facing the euphoria of opening the borders and so on, but we are facing day-by-day problems, complications, bureaucratic obstacles sometimes. So even on the 1st May there wasn't big euphoria, because there were no substantial changes in everyday life."

And if the polls are to be believed, then the two Eurosceptic parties that have come first and second, the right-of-centre Civic Democrats followed by the Communists, are both strongly Eurosceptic. Does that mean that generally speaking Czech voters don't want further European integration?

"Let me disagree with you. OK, when we see the Civic Democrats (ODS), they have a reputation as Eurosceptics, but this reputation is due first to their honorary president and current Czech President, Mr Vaclav Klaus and also the number one on their candidate list, Mr Zahradil, who are Eurosceptic. But if you look at the opinion polls, you see that the ODS electorate is not so Eurosceptic. That's the first point. Another point is the success of a new political subject, the European Democrats. They won 11 percent, and they are Euro-optimistic, in favour of European integration."

Vladimir Spidla (Photo: CTK)

One thing is clear, that this election is a disaster for the current government. If the ruling Social Democrats really have only got 11 percent of the vote, as the polls suggest, that's well under half of what they won in the last general election. What are the consequences for Mr Spidla's government?

"I think that for the time being, for the next couple of weeks, there will be no direct reaction. I think that the Social Democrats were prepared for such a defeat, but the level of the defeat is very hard, and I think that the consequences will come in the autumn with the regional elections, because they will be especially on the domestic issues. And I think that if there will be another defeat, the Social Democrats will be obliged to react."

When you say that, do you think that there might be an early parliamentary election?

"I don't think so because our constitutional system is so complicated for elections. Maybe there will be a fall of the government or a re-composition, but not an early election."