The young people surveyed in the last IRES survey overwhelmingly declared that they do not trust the political parties, with small percentages also in the case of the Parliament and the Government. Romania has all types of elections this year.
Young people's trust in parties has reached 4% PHOTO Mediafax
“Trust in the state and its institutions is also low among young people, in accordance with the trend that is also manifested at the general level of Romanian society, especially in the last 10 years. Institutional trust is differentiated among young people. Executive and legislative institutions in Romania enjoy extremely low trust, while total institutions (army, church, police, secret services) enjoy moderate to high trust. NATO and the EU, but also the university environment and civil society have a higher trust than the President, the government or the Parliament of Romania, a sign that the public authorities at the national level have disappointed in relation to the expectations of the young public“, says IRES, in a material about the last survey conducted only with young people (people aged between 18 and 35).
According to the sociological research house, regarding the institutions with the lowest trust are the parties (only 4% of the survey participants declare that they have a lot and a lot of trust in them), the Government and the Parliament of Romania (both credited with 9%) and the institution of the president (11%).
“This is where the low trust in Romanian democracy comes from, against the background of a Romania with low rates of predictability, fairness, independence and orientation towards citizens, including the young“, the authors mention.
On the other hand, the university environment is in first place, being credited with a lot of confidence by 56% of young people. It is followed by the European Union (51%), the army (50%), NATO (50%). The middle of the ranking is occupied by the church – in which 47% of young people trust very much, NGOs (46%), large companies in the private sector (42%), secret services (42%) and the police (41%) .
Two-thirds think the country is going in the wrong direction
According to survey data, 68% believe the country is going in the wrong direction, while 28% believe it is going in the right direction. The data show that trust in democracy in Romania also presents some problems, with 37% stating that they trust “to a very small extent/not at all”, while 39% have trust “to a small extent”. In contrast, only 21% trust to a great extent, and 2% “very much”.
Study methodology
Sample size: 800 respondents between the ages of 18 and 35. Sample type: simple, random, nationally representative. Representativeness: maximum tolerated error of ±3.5%. Survey period: March 9-14, 2024. Method: Data were collected using the CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) method
