site.btaRomanians Believe Most in Army, Least in Government, Parliament, Shows Survey

The Army is the national institution in which Romanians have the most confidence, while they trust the least the Government and Parliament, shows the latest opinion poll by INSCOP, as quoted by Digi24. The survey was conducted between June 26 and 30 among 1,150 participants interviewed by telephone.

The survey shows that 63% of Romanians have very high trust in the Army. Next is the Church with 57.7%, the Romanian Academy with 46.8%, the police with 43.2%, the National Bank with 42.5%, the Municipality with 38.9%, the presidencial institution with 34.8%, the press with 26.9%, the Government with 20.4%, and Parliament with 14.5%.

The supporters of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL), people over 60, those with primary education and rural residents are the categories that have the most confidence in the Army, the data show. The Church is mostly trusted by supporters of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party. The Romanian Academy enjoys the highest level of trust among supporters of the PSD and the PNL, as well as among civil servants. Young people under 30 have the most confidence in the Police, the Government, and Parliament.

"The survey shows that Romanians trust institutions perceived as stable and apolitical: the Army and the Church are distanced, reflecting the need for solid guidance in a climate of uncertainty. The Romanian Academy remains a symbol of cultural continuity, being a respected rather than influential institution. The Romanian Academy remains a symbol of cultural continuity, being a respected rather than influential institution. At the other end of the spectrum are the central political institutions - the Government, Parliament and even the presidential institution, which suffer from a crisis of legitimacy conditioned by a deep distrust in the political class", commented INSCOP head Remus Stefureac.

According to him, the political polarisation in Romanian society is also evident in terms of trust in institutions, with voters of the ruling parties having significantly more trust in institutions than voters of the AUR, who show chronic distrust in all institutions. “From this point of view, the risk of reinforcement and exploitation of social divisions by hostile state actors becomes a major one for Romania in the next three years,” he argued.