LONDON

The Romanian president has expressed deep concern over widespread nostalgia for communism in the country as a newly conducted study shows that the majority of the nation believes the communist regime was good for Romania.

Citing the survey published on Tuesday that revealed the increasing positive view about communism, President Nicusor Dan said he is "deeply concerned" by the results of the study.

According to a new INSCOP Research survey commissioned by the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile, nearly 56% of Romanians believe there were more positive than negative developments that occurred under communism in the country.

The poll, conducted between June 25 and July 3, also shows that 66.2% of the respondents believe Nicolae Ceausescu, the communist leader of Romania from 1965 until he was overthrown and killed in a revolution in 1989, was a good leader for the country.

The study indicated that the view is especially widespread among older Romanians, those with primary education, residents of rural areas, and people with lower incomes, while only 24.1% consider Ceausescu a bad leader.

For the president, the main reason why more and more Romanians idealize communism is the "deep disappointment" with the political class of the past three decades.

"Corruption, lack of transparency, broken promises, and the feeling of injustice have weakened people's trust in both the present and the future, he wrote in a post on Facebook.

He added: "When hopes are betrayed year after year, nostalgia becomes a natural reaction, even if it is based on a distorted image of the past."

The president also said that these figures show "how fragile our collective memory is."

"To keep democracy alive and relevant, we must firmly combat disinformation, restore people’s trust through fair public policies, and build a society in which justice, equity, and real development are felt by all citizens," he added.