According to a survey conducted by CSOP in partnership with the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of Romanian Exile (IICCMER) and quoted by HotNews, 61 per cent of Romanians consider communism “a good idea,” compared to 53 per cent 4 years ago. Half of the respondents consider that things were better in Romania before December 1989, while only 23 per cent consider the opposite. According to the survey’s results, the percentage of Romanians that believe Nicolae Ceausescu was good for Romania (25 per cent) is significantly larger than those that consider he was bad for Romania (15 per cent). The main reasons why respondents stated things were better before were: the existence of jobs (62 per cent), the living standards (26 per cent) and the availability of housing (19 per cent).
The main negative aspects mentioned by those that had a negative opinion in regard to communism consisted of: the lack of freedom (69 per cent), the degree of poverty (namely the shortage of food, public services and utilities) and the lack of information (11 per cent).
In what concerns the way in which the two political leaders of the communist era – Nicolae Ceausescu and Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej – are perceived, the former is better known than the latter and also has a better image. The percentage of people that believe Nicolae Ceausescu was good for Romania (25 per cent) is significantly larger than those that consider he was bad for Romania (15 per cent). In what concerns both leaders, most of the respondents consider that they did both good and bad things (half of the respondents stated that about Ceausescu) and similarly consider that history textbooks should reflect that.
The survey was conducted during August 27 to September 2 on a sample of 1,133 respondents and has a margin of error of +/- 2.9 per cent.
previous post
