Communism vs. democracy: what would Romanians choose?

Most of Romanians say that, if they would have the possibility to choose between democracy and communism, they would go with the first choice, according to a recent INSCOP survey. Almost 81% of Romanians would choose democracy, while 14.3% would go with the second choice – the communism. Based on age categories, 77% of those aged over 50 (meaning they were over 25 when the revolution took place in 1989) said they would choose democracy, while 18.8% would choose communism. The pro-democracy percentage is even higher among those aged between 31 and 50 – 85%. When asked how would they vote if the Romanian Communist Party PCR would be re-established and would be able to run in the Parliamentary elections, most of the Romanians, namely 72.9%, said they wouldn’t vote with this party. Slightly over 17% would vote for late Romanian communist President Nicolae Ceausescu if he would run for Presidency, while almost 71% wouldn’t even consider it. When asked which of Romania’s President in the last 25 years did the best things for the country, 30.3% of respondents chose current President Traian Basescu. He is followed by Ion Iliescu - 23.8% and Emil Constantinescu – 19.6%. When compared to Nicolae Ceausescu, both Traian Basescu and Emil Constantinescu are believed to have been better than the communist dictator, with a percentage of 49.9% and 49.3% respectively. Over 39% of respondents believe that Ion Iliescu was better that Ceausescu. The study was conducted between November 27 and December 2 on a sample of over 1,000 people, at the request of Adevarul newspaper. Romania celebrates, in December this year, 25 years since the Revolution in 1989, which marked the fall of the communist regime. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (Photo: Romanian Communist Party Flag - Wikipedia) (P) Bucharest Tour - From Communism to Democracy - City Compass Tours & Events - Find out more