The soaring prices and the war in Ukraine are the main concerns of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. Raising the pensions and salaries should be the main objective of the Government, shows a new public opinion poll carried out by the company CBS Research. If parliamentary elections were held next Sunday, the configuration of the new legislative body would not change significantly. The Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), the Party of Socialists (PSRM) and the Shor Party would enter Parliament, while the Party of Communists (PCRM) would be close to the electoral threshold of 5%.
According to the poll that was presented in a news conference hosted by IPN, among the main fears of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova are the rate of inflation, the war in Ukraine and poverty.
What things concern you the most?
Prices – 51.1%
War in the region – 43.2%
Poverty – 26.8%
72% of those polled said the increasing of pensions and salaries should be the Government’s main concern. The survey shows the people’s political preferences didn’t change a lot and the same political parties would enter Parliament. This way, if parliamentary elections were held next Sunday, PAS would gain 28.3% of the vote, PSRM – 22.5%, the Shor Party – 9.3%, while PCRM – 4.4%.
Asked to name the politician they trust the most, 26.1% of those interviewed named President Maia Sandu. Ex-President Igor Dodon is trusted by 11.1% of the respondents, while the leader of the Shor Party Ilan Shor – by 3.4%.
Sociologist Dan Dungaciu said the popular approval ratings of the ruling party and President Maia Sandu increased because the citizens realized what the alternative to the current government is. “Maia Sandu in particular and also her party have better ratings. Despite the problems experienced in the Republic of Moldova in the energy sector and the economy, despite the rising prices, the ruling party’s rating in polls goes up. In the current protests, one can easily see the alternative to the ruling party. This is an aspect that by contrast puts the Government in a favorable light. Furthermore, there is a threat to security. When the security is under threat, one normally goes to the Government to be protected,” stated Dan Dungaciu.
The poll also shows that if a referendum was held, the European course would be supported by 57% of those surveyed, while 26.4% would vote for integration into the Eurasian Union. Also, 39.7% of the respondents would vote for Moldova’s union with Romania, with the figure being higher than earlier. “Pragmatically, by affection Romania volens nolens becomes a vehicle that tows the Republic of Moldova towards the European space. This is a state that can effectively help the Republic of Moldova. Romania became for the Republic of Moldova what’s left when everything is taken away from you,” said the sociologist.
The survey reveals that the Moldovans do not want the country to become involved in war. However, in case of a war to defend the country from the Russian invasion or from the Transnistrian, 48.2% of those interviewed said they would definitely not take arms in their hands to fight.
The poll was conducted by CBS Research, the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul” in partnership with “Ion I.C. Brătianu” Institute of Political Science and International Relations and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. It was carried out during September 29 – October 11 and covered a sample of 1,066 persons. The margin of sampling error is +/-3%.