President Klaus Iohannis is the politician with the highest notoriety among Romanians, followed by Gabriela Firea, and in third place is Diana Sosoaca, ahead of Mircea Geoana, Marcel Ciolacu, Nicolae Ciuca, George Simion, and Laura Codruta Kovesi, according to a survey commissioned by News.ro and conducted by INSCOP. According to Remus Stefureac, the director of INSCOP Research, Diana Sosoaca’s notoriety indicates the viralization capacity of ultra-radical messages, but he emphasizes that high notoriety does not automatically translate to a high level of trust. Klaus Iohannis is the most well-known politician among the tested names, with 99.2% of respondents stating that they have heard of him. The head of state is followed by Gabriela Firea with a notoriety of 94%, Diana Sosoaca with 93.5%, Mircea Geoana with 93.3%, and Marcel Ciolacu with 92.5%. 87.7% of those interviewed say they have heard of liberal leader Nicolae Ciuca, 84.9% of AUR leader George Simion, and 80.7% of former DNA chief Laura Codruta Kovesi. Minister of Transport Sorin Grindeanu enjoys a notoriety of 72.9%, while Minister of Internal Affairs Catalin Predoiu has 55.7%. Less than half of the respondents (41.1%) state that they have heard of Elena Lasconi at the time of data collection, before the scandal caused by her statement regarding the vote on the traditional family referendum. “The notoriety of political leaders is the first relevant indicator for assessing the capacity of a political leader to run in elections. The ranking of President Klaus Iohannis in first place, with 99% of respondents stating that they have heard of the President of Romania, is not a surprise. The second-place position of Gabriela Firea, the former mayor and an active personality in the public space for the past twenty-five years, is not surprising either. On the other hand, the fact that 93.5% of respondents state that they have heard of Diana Sosoaca shows the viralization capacity of ultra-radical messages. However, high notoriety does not automatically mean a high level of trust. On the other hand, average or low notoriety, beyond the implicit disadvantage, also offers the opportunity to build favorability in the long term,” says Remus Stefureac, director of INSCOP Research.
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