Avangarde poll confirms Romania’s leading opposition party AUR slips to 35%

The result confirms a decline of around five percentage points from the upper end of the range recorded for the party in various polls over the past year.

AUR would be followed by the ruling Social Democrats (PSD), with 26% of the electorate (40% of those expressing a preference) – a surprisingly strong result compared with polls conducted over the past year, G4media.ro reported.

Among the centrist opposition parties, the National Liberal Party (PNL) would receive 15% of the vote, followed by Save Romania Union (USR), with 10%.

Among the adult population as a whole, 16% are undecided, 17% said they would not vote, and 2% did not answer, bringing the total share of undecided respondents, non-voters and non-respondents to 35%.

Given that the PNL voted in Parliament to approve the Luca Niculescu government, which includes PSD ministers, while announcing that it would remain in opposition, respondents were asked whether they considered the Liberals’ decision rather good or rather wrong. Half (50%) said it was rather wrong, 29% considered it rather good, and 21% did not know or did not answer.

Almost a third of respondents (30%) believe that the Niculescu government’s first priority should be increasing salaries and pensions.

Another 21% identified fighting corruption as the main priority, 19% reducing the budget deficit and public debt, 15% cutting state spending (on the public administration and institutions), 7% investing in infrastructure (highways, hospitals and schools), and 4% financing the healthcare system. A further 4% did not know or did not answer.

Asked how the government should reduce the budget deficit, 59% of Romanians said it should first cut state spending. Another 20% favoured higher taxes on wealth and companies, 4% said the government should borrow more without taking other measures, 3% believed the deficit should not be reduced at present, 2% favoured increasing taxes and duties, and 1% supported freezing pensions and salaries. The remaining 11% did not know or did not answer.