Romanians have highest confidence in Moldova's Maia Sandu among all foreign leaders

The president of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, ranks among the foreign politicians whom Romanians say they trust the most, according to a recent survey.

The number of Romanians who say they do not trust various foreign leaders is higher than those who say they do, according to a survey carried out by Avangarde and cited by G4Media. Maia Sandu enjoys the trust of 38% of those surveyed, while 40% say they have no confidence in any leader. Sandu is followed by French president Emmanuel Macron (29%), and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky (25%).

Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, and Russian president Vladimir Putin are at the bottom of the list.

The survey also touched on pressing issues, such as the war in Ukraine. Almost half of the Romanians surveyed believe that Ukraine should begin negotiation proceedings with Russia, while 28% say that it should fight till the end. One in three respondents believe that victory for Ukraine would mean the recovery of all territories it lost to Russia, including Crimea.

Romanians are strongly opposed to their country giving weapons to Ukraine, with 71% being against it. Instead, they believe that Romania should give humanitarian aid (64%) and take in refugees (52%).

Moldova, Spain, Italy, and the US are viewed by those surveyed as states friendly to Romania. More than one in two Romanians view Russia as an “enemy state.” China, by comparison, is viewed as a competitor to Romania rather than an enemy. Hungary, Netherlands, Serbia, and to a lesser degree Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Poland are also predominantly viewed as competitors.

Roughly 40% of Romanians say that they cannot give an answer to the question of Ukraine’s membership in the EU or NATO.

The survey was conducted by Avangarde between October 24 and 31 by telephone.

(Photo source: Gov.ro)