Survey looks at foreign leaders, countries Romanians trust

A total of 28.8% of the respondents to the survey “Public distrust: West vs. East, the Rise of Nationalism in the Disinformation Era, and the Fake News Phenomenon” said they trusted Maia Sandu, the president of the Republic of Moldova.

Sandu, included in the survey for the first time, is followed by US president Joe Biden with 25.9% (down from 41.6% in March and 36.4% in the June issues of the same survey). Russian president Vladimir Putin enjoys the trust of 21% of respondents (compared to 23.9% in June and 19% in March), while 16.4% said they trusted Hungarian PM Victor Orban.

The survey also showed 61.8% of the respondents think the US and EU have a positive influence on the country, while 16.5% think Russia and China have a positive influence. A total of 21.8% did not offer an answer to the topic.

Among the organizations and countries mentioned in the survey, NATO has the trust of 47.1% of respondents (compared to 59.3% in June and 49.4% in March). A total of 45.8% of respondents trust Germany (compared to 49.2% in June and 57.6% in March) and 42.5% the EU (compared to 55% in June and 51.6% in March). Of those surveyed, 40.3% said they trusted the US (compared to 47.8% in June and 47.2% in March). A total of 16.2% said they trust Russia and 13.5% China.

Asked about which country should Romania get closer to in its foreign policy, 30.2% chose Germany, 18.5% the US, 7.4% Russia, 6.5% France, and 3.8% China. A total of 26% chose the option ‘none’, and 7.5% did not answer.

Furthermore, 55.7% of the respondents think NATO would defend Romania in case of aggression (compared to 66% in March), while 37.9% think the country would have to defend itself in such an event (compared to 29.3% in March).

The third edition of the survey “Public distrust: West vs. East, the Rise of Nationalism in the Disinformation Era, and the Fake News Phenomenon” was carried out by INSCOP Research in a partnership with Verifield at the request of think-tank Strategic Thinking Group as part of a research project supported by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, funded by the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation through True Story Project.

The survey was carried out between September 15 and September 27, among 1,204 respondents.

More about the survey here.

(Photo: Gov.ro)