From London to Bucharest, the idea of an authoritarian regime is gaining ground. Data from a recent poll published by Politico indicates a surprising openness to dictatorship among European and British citizens. The explanation lies in citizens’ dissatisfaction with the way the state functions, explains psychologist Mihai Copăceanu. Sometimes a dictatorial state instills a sense of security in citizens, he says, and nostalgia for the past plays an important role.
“Dissatisfaction and aversion to certain political parties in our country and in the countries mentioned in the Politico survey lead citizens to consider dictatorship as a solution. A dictatorship means in the minds of many people a functioning state, with laws and rules that are respected and with less corruption. In the minds of many citizens, a dictatorial state is not one without predictability or a state where everyone does what they want, instills security in citizens and even economic stability. Unfortunately, these beliefs are deeply mistaken”, explains the psychologist Mihai Copăceanu.
In Romania, such data also translate into a nostalgia for the period of the pre-1989 regime, but this feature is not unique, says the psychologist:
“First of all, the nostalgia of the past is characteristic of many peoples and specific to citizens of the 2nd or 3rd age through the reaction of idealizing the past and implicitly the communist period. It is a psychological process that causes us to minimize or even ignore the negative aspects of the past, to emphasize the apparently positive parts of the past, and even to exaggerate them. Somehow, our memory, under various influences has a tendency to selectively preserve certain information especially those that correspond to our desires and they are to our liking”.
Thus, then “when citizens answer that they appreciate communism they do so in a selective way, i.e. focusing on those aspects of that society, which in their minds were particularly functional and convenient”indicates the psychologist Mihai Copceanu.
One in 5 Europeans consider dictatorship preferable to democracy
One in five Europeans believe that, in certain cases, a dictatorship is preferable to democracy, according to poll data published by Politico. The study, carried out by AboutPeople, between November 25 and December 16, in five countries (Greece, France, Sweden, Great Britain and Romania), shows a percentage of 22% of citizens who, in certain cases, say that a dictatorship could be the preferred option.
At the same time, according to the data, 26% agree with the statement: “if there was a capable and effective leader in my country, I wouldn’t mind if he limited democratic rights and was not accountable to the citizens for his actions“.
However, resistance to the idea of an authoritarian government remains strong. 69% of respondents reject this proposal. Regarding the reasons, a third of those surveyed disagreed with the view that the rise of the far right is a danger to democracy.
However, the same survey shows that, in terms of trust, the best rated is the European Union, with 43%, surpassing the political parties with 24% and the media with 27%. In relation to parties, Greek respondents have the greatest sense of alienation. 55% say they do not feel close to the party they voted for in the most recent election, compared to 53% in Romania, 47% in the UK, 43% in France and 32% in Sweden.
The case of Romania: nostalgia for communism
In Romania, these data translated last year into nostalgia for communism, noted in an INSCOP survey. According to the data published in July 2025, 55.8% of those surveyed were of the opinion that the communist regime rather meant a good thing for Romania (more good things happened than bad things). In parallel, 34.5% were of the opinion that the communist regime rather meant a bad thing for Romania.
At the same time, they rated the standard of living as better than before 1989, by 48.4%, compared to the current situation. 34.7% indicated that life was worse. The percentage of those who indicated a higher level of corruption today was 65.1%, compared to 8% before 1989, thus indicating the population’s dissatisfaction with the economic situation and the level of corruption.
