Survey shows majority of Romanians would agree to increase in defense spending

More than 70% of Romanians would support an increase in defense spending so that Romania can defend its sovereignty in the event of military aggression, an INSCOP surveyconducted between May 26-30 showed.

Given the recent discussions on how Europe should reduce its military dependence on the US and NATO by increasing defense spending, respondents were asked whether they agreed with this perspective so that Romania could defend its sovereignty in the event of military aggression. While 72.8% support an increase, 25.6% oppose it, and 1.6% do not know or do not answer.

A total of 81% of the voters of the Social Democrat Party (PSD) support an increase in defense spending. Among National Liberal Party (PNL) voters, 80% would agree with an increase in spending. As for the voters of the center-right Save Romania Union (USR), 94% approve of an increase in spending. At the same time, 62% of the voters of the right-wing Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) support an increase in defense spending, while 36% are against it.

Among Romanians with primary education, 64% are in favor of higher defense spending, while 32% reject the idea. Additionally, 74% of Romanians with secondary education and 81% of those with higher education support a more substantial defense budget. In contrast, 25% of those with secondary education and 18% of those with higher education do not support a significant increase in defense spending.

''The degree of support varies significantly between party voters, suggesting that the public discourse of party representatives influences the option of increasing the defense budget. The conclusion is especially significant with regard to AUR voters, exposed to the narratives of this party's leaders, rather hostile to robust national defense policies. Given the broad support from public opinion, the authorities could have a significant margin of action to implement policies to strengthen Romania's defense capacity, in line with European trends,'' INSCOP Research Director Remus Ștefureac said.

The data were collected using the CATI method (telephone interviews) among a sample of 1,150 people. The maximum permissible error of the data is plus/minus 2.9%, at a confidence level of 95%.

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