The Romanians are rather uninterested in politics, most of them believe that the current general situation in Romania is bad or very bad, and most have confidence in the Army, according to a survey by Inscop Research.

Two opinion polls were carried out in Romania and the US in October within a study called “Values, perceptions and representations of the population in Romania and the US.” In Romania, the survey was conducted by Inscop Research on 1,050 respondents, while in US the company that managed the poll was The Polling Company, which based its results on the answers of 1,050 people.

The survey revealed that only 19% of Romanians believe that their country is heading in a good direction, compared to 46% of American respondents. Meanwhile, 72% of Romanians appreciate that the current general situation in Romania is bad or very bad while almost a quarter believe that the current situation is good or very good. By comparison, just under half of Americans (47%) feel that the current situation in their country is good or very good.

More than 70% of respondents in Romania consider that their country's current economic situation is bad (57%) or very bad (16%). In the US, half of the Americans appreciate that their country's current economic situation is good (38%) or very good (18%). Meanwhile, more than half of Romanians and around 60% of Americans believe that the financial situation of their family is good or very good.

The main problems in Romania, as seen by the Romanians, are the inflation/daily living costs (69% chose this answer out of three possible answers), the economy (59%) and the energy cost (53%). The top list of problems also includes the level of taxes and the lack of jobs. Meanwhile, climate change, immigration and terrorism were among the problems most rarely mentioned by Romanians.

By comparison, in the US respondents' view, the main problems their country faces include access to medical services (38% of those questioned), immigration (38%) and inflation/daily living costs (36%).

The institution that both the Romanians and the Americans trust the most is the Army. The Police also gathered lots of positive responses. Meanwhile, of the listed Romanian political institutions, the President and the local authorities enjoy the greatest trust. The Romanians have less confidence in the other parties and other central institutions, the Government and the Parliament. The trust of Romanians and Americans in justice is greater than trust in other fundamental institutions such as the Parliament/Congress or the central/federal government.

Overall, the Romanians are rather uninterested in politics, with 19% of Romanian respondents saying that they have no interest in politics and 31% saying that they are not that interested in politics. At the opposite end, the US population is more interested in politics. 26% of American respondents are very interested in politics, and 24% are quite interested.

Both the Romanians and the Americans find it important to live in a democratic regime. Also, a significant share of both the Romanians and the Americans have expressed their consent for a leadership involving a leader / president who manages the country's problems with an iron fist. 49% of Romanians and 42% of Americans consider that such a political leadership would be useful for their country.

Meanwhile, 42% of Romanians think it would be good for a team of technocrats to handle the country's government, as opposed to 32% of Americans.

Survey reveals how the Americans see Romania

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Pixabay.com)