47 to 46, a worrying score

According to the latest figures published this week by INSCOP, many things are clarified. We have been circling, as a country and political system, around certain concepts for about four years. Whether sovereignty is also euroscepticism, whether the anti-system is also radicalism, or whether it is rather extreme right than populism, as you can see, there are no clear categories... We can discuss. By the way, even before the clear categories of the interwar period, there were no clear categories. And then the great mystery, how is it that Romanians are dissatisfied with everything, are attracted to radical and conspiratorial solutions, yet are still European and pro-Western?

It is worth discussing how the great failure of politics over the last 35 years has somehow stemmed from our inability as a society to understand democracy. And here I am not referring to any voting option, not even to the famous annulled elections, nor to any particular party, nor to any politician who was in a strong position at some point in the last three decades and a half. And we are no longer referring to the fact that, as you can see, Romanians are more eccentric today in their political opinions, but they are still pro-Europe. I don't know if it is pragmatically useful to calm ourselves that we are still, declaratively, dedicated to the European project.

It is time to conduct some studies that show us, in detail and on a valid operationalization scheme, our degree of attachment to European values and democratic values. Political culture, democratic resilience – not just on security issues, but on substantive issues, on the consistency of the European project. And, of course, to see when people started to feel that there is something there that is not working anymore. After the great crisis of 2009-2010? After the debate from 2016-2018 regarding the great migration? After the pandemic? After 2022?

Romanians oriented themselves, after 1989, and especially in the 2000s, in the context of accession, for pragmatic reasons, towards the West. But, as the same people to whom we want to return now say, even though they left us tangled in 2024, we should stand crooked and judge straight – and we will see if we want Europe, democracy, NATO and such things, or if we were only interested in how they were, as they say, at the time. That we can be dissatisfied with how things have evolved is evident. That is not the discussion. But the transition from the most euro-optimistic nation (in the 90s, about 80% of Romanians wanted to be in the EU and NATO, while they were still reluctant to admit Central European nations that were not so enthusiastic and left us out) to a lukewarm one after less than 20 years in the EU says something about us. Of course, we are not the most eurosceptic among member states these days, but let us not forget that we were, as I said, among the most euro-optimistic.

And here we are at a situation where 47% of Romanians say that democracy is preferable, even if it involves too many debates and political quarrels, but 46% would accept a less democratic regime if it would bring more order and stability. Of course, the second option brings a cosmetic resignation from the democratic ideal, but even so, the result is worrying. An authoritarian decision is more efficient than a democratic one, but much more dangerous. Just because people always have the feeling that others are the targets, not them.