Pre-election poll shows increased support for new parties

A public opinion survey released by the polling agency Median for the month of April puts preference for the centre-left Social Democratic Party at 26.2%, followed by the centre-right Civic Democratic Party at 19%. The poll suggests a slight lapse in preference for the two main political parties and a related rise in support for new parties. The newly formed party of ex-prime minister Miloš Forman overcame the 5% parliamentary threshold, as did the fledgling Public Affairs party and the Christian Democrats, each by roughly two points. However, the Green Party, which is currently in parliament, was down by 1.3 points to 3.5%. The Communist Party received 13.3% preference in the poll, followed by the new centre-right party TOP 09.