Slovaks are more optimistic about the economy today than they were in 2009, but they assess the functioning of democracy, both in Slovakia and in the EU, in a less positive manner, according to a survey conducted by the Focus agency in early June. In 2009, 80 percent of the respondents believed that the economic situation in Slovakia would take a turn for the worse in the following year. That number has dropped to only 28 percent in 2019. On the other hand, 42 percent of people in 2009 said they were either rather happy or very happy with the state of democracy in Slovakia, whereas in 2019 their ranks have thinned by 7 percentage points. "We are witnessing the fact that happiness with the overall state of the economy might not necessarily mean happiness with the development of democracy as well. These are two separate things," said sociologist Oľga Gyárfášova of the Public Affairs Institute.
Also recorded was a lower level of happiness with the state of democracy in the EU. In 2009, 35 percent of the respondents said they were rather unhappy or completely unhappy with it, with just under 15 percent undecided. In 2019, however, the number saying they are rather or completely unhappy has grown to almost 60 percent, with 8 percent undecided. The trend indicated by this result might not be entirely negative, however, Gyárfášova was quick to add. "I would ascribe this to the fact that there's much greater interest among Slovaks in the inner workings of the EU. The fact that it's negative suggests that more people than ever are now stating their opinions on the quality of democracy in the EU," she said.
