Fewer Romanians are concerned by the problems of day-to-day life, such as rising prices, their jobs or lower revenues, and more are preoccupied with the possibility of a military conflict in the region.

Some 24 percent of Romanians are worried about rising prices, down from 29.5 percent recorded in July 2013, while 22.7 percent are worried about losing their jobs, fewer compared to the previous year, according to an INSCOP survey conducted between May 1 and May 7.

A total of 16 percent of respondents are concerned about the reduction of revenues, down from 17.5 percent recorded in July 2013, while almost 10 percent are worried about the possibility of a conflict/war in the region, compared to just 1.4 percent in July, and 4.1 percent in February this year. This comes after civil war broke in Eastern Ukraine, in the regions where the population is in majority pro-Russian.

In terms of political institutions, 39.6 percent of Romanians have high and very high confidence in the City Hall, down from 42.1 percent in March this year, while almost 30 percent trust the Constitutional Court. Over 29 percent of respondents have confidence in the Government, slightly down from the figure in March 2014, while 21.8 percent trust the Presidency, down from 22.6 percent in March.

When it comes to executive institutions, the army ranks first, 66.1 percent of the Romanians having high and very high confidence in this institution, up from 65 percent in March this year, followed by the gendarmerie - 57.7 percent, the Romanian Intelligence Service SRI - 48.1 percent and the Anti-Corruption Agency DNA - 47.1 percent.

The most trusted social institution in Romania is the church, with 63 percent of respondents expressing their confidence in the institution, slightly up from 62.3 percent registered in March. The universities rank second, with 44.4 percent.

In the case of international institutions, half of Romanians trust NATO, up from 48.5 percent in March 2014, 44.8 percent have confidence in the EU, while a similar percentage trust the UN. Slightly over 40 percent have high or very high confidence in the European Parliament, 39.7 percent trust the European Commission, while 23.9 percent say they have confidence in the International Monetary Fund IMF.

“The truth about Romania” survey was conducted by INSCOP Research at the request of Romanian daily newspaper Adevarul. It was carried out on a sample of over 1,000 people and it is representative for the Romanian population aged 18 and over 18.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Wikipedia)