Bulgarians’ optimism about key political and social aspects, which started in the spring of 2009, is continuing and consolidating.

The data was released Tuesday through the Eurobarometer 72 standard edition of the Eurobarometer survey.

Eurobarometer is a series of surveys regularly performed on behalf of the European Commission. The standard Eurobarometer was established in 1973. Each survey consists of approximately 1000 face-to-face interviews per Member State (except Germany: 2000, Luxembourg: 600, United Kingdom 1300 including 300 in Northern Ireland). Reports are published twice yearly.,

Eurobarometer 72 standard survey was conducted in the autumn of 2009. 1008 Bulgarians, aged 15 or higher, form both genders across the country’s administrative regions, were interviewed between October 29 and November 9.

According to the survey, optimistic attitudes in the society nowadays are fed by Bulgaria’s new Cabinet which took office at the end of July 2009.

Data from the 2009 spring Eurobarometer showed the first indications of the recovery of optimism after the serious rise in pessimism caused by the ‘gas crisis’ in the country and parts of Europe, the suspended financing of several EU programs in Bulgaria, and the first negative effects of the global financial and economic crisis on the country. In the fall of 2009, attitudes in Bulgarian society are moderately optimistic, the poll reveals.

As in previous survey periods, Bulgarians remain predominantly optimistic and positive on most aspects concerning the European Union and the situation in Europe.

In the spring of 2009, Bulgaria ranked second among the 27 EU Member States by the number of people with positive view on the European Union (63%). Attitudes on this indicator remain unchanged compared to the spring period.

The positive trend is even stronger when it comes to the confidence of Bulgarians in the European Union and its institutions. Trust in the EU and the EU institutions not only continues the stabilization which started in the spring but has also reached its highest levels since 2004 (69%). The European Commission is the institution with the highest confidence growth (+7% compared to the spring of 2009).

The survey also registers a confirmation of the stabilization of attitudes when it comes to the opinions whether Bulgaria has benefited from its EU membership. In the autumn of 2009, the share of the population thinking that the country has benefited has passed the psychological border of 50%.

Nearly 3 years of Bulgaria’s membership in the EU have contributed to increasing the share of Bulgarians who believe that the European Union observes and respects democracy and democratic principles. A significant growth of over 10% (compared to the autumn of 2007) in the share of Bulgarians who feel satisfied with the functioning of democracy in the Union is observed.

Increased optimism is also seen when it comes to the short-term future of the economic situation in Europe and in the world in general. Optimism for the global and European economy has reached its highest rates since autumn 2007.

Despite the fact that optimism is fueled by the new Cabinet, the Eurobarometer 72 standard survey shows that Bulgarians’ attitudes and expectations towards the domestic social and economic situation, opinions remain predominantly pessimistic:

Bulgarians are becoming less satisfied (drop of 10% compared to the autumn of 2007) with the extent that democratic principles are respected in Bulgaria. Negative evaluations regarding the functioning of democracy in Bulgaria are shared by the majority of the population.

Despite the increasing share of positive evaluations for the European economy, attitudes with respect to the economic situation in Bulgaria remain unchanged compared to the spring of 2009. The majority of Bulgarians say the national economy is in bad situation.

When it comes to short-term expectations regarding the national economy, Bulgarians are moderately pessimistic. Equal shares of the population expect a deterioration of the economic situation in the country and the sustaining of the current situation, while optimism is significantly lower.

Pessimism regarding the domestic economic situation is also confirmed by the fact that the majority of both Bulgarians and EU respondents believe that the worst of the financial and economic crisis is still to come.

In addition to the negative expectations for the economic situation in the country, the assessment of the Bulgarians on the current employment situation and personal job status are also generally pessimistic. Attitudes regarding the employment situation have been gradually deteriorating since the autumn of 2008.

Expectations for the employment situation in Bulgaria in the next twelve months are also mostly pessimistic, in line with the trend from the spring of 2009.

The majority of the population (70%) evaluates the current financial situation of their households as poor.

In addition to that, in the fall of 2009, significant growth (+10% compared to spring 2009) is seen in the share of Bulgarians reporting their households live day to day and they are incapable of making long-term plans. Households living day to day represent more than a half of all Bulgarian households nowadays.

Despite the generally negative perceptions about the economic and social aspects of the domestic situation, the change in the political status quo after the Parliamentary elections held in July 2009, is marked by a rise in optimism and public confidence regarding certain domestic political aspects. Confidence in the Bulgarian government is up by 27% compared to the pre-electoral period in the spring. Currently, nearly half of the Bulgarian population state they trust the national government. This figure is comparable to the level of confidence Bulgarians have towards the EU institutions and is the highest since the 2007 autumn.

The increase in confidence in the national government is also confirmed by a significant rise (+17% compared to spring 2009) in the share of Bulgarians who believe that the Bulgarian government is the institution best able to take effective actions against the consequences of the financial and economic crisis. The popularity of the national government among Bulgarians is almost double the EU average.

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