Pessimism

Bulgarians seem to mirror the prevailing global sentiment of cautious optimism tinged with apprehension as per the latest annual Gallup International Association survey. Surveying 40,428 individuals across 41 nations worldwide, the study sheds light on Bulgaria's outlook for the forthcoming year.

By Yannis Magriotis

Our country over the past decades had impressive growth in many sectors and transcended the dark shadows of the pre-WWII and post-Civil War eras.

It became a member of Western European institutions of security and development and it approached many sides of the democratic and developed world.

The idea for the digital meeting came from the pandemic, as the organizers (the National Documentation Center and the youth organization Youthmakers Hub) felt the need for positive and inspiring paradigms in the midst of this general feeling of pessimism.

64% of Bulgarians believe that next year will be a year of economic difficulties, according to a global Gallup International survey.

Over half of Bulgarians (57%) share pessimistic attitudes towards the economic development over the next year. The largest share (31%) say it will take more than a year to return to a normal lifestyle, and 9% say people will never return to it. 68% say they would be worried to visit places where there are many people.

In February 2020 consumer confidence in Greece had climbed to an almost 20-year peak at -4.8 points. It took just a few weeks for it to slide back down to -16.5 points in March, according to Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) statistics released on Wednesday, with the monthly reduction of 11.7 points being the biggest ever recorded from one month to the next.

The Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) reported on Wednesday a considerable rise in its economic sentiment index in February to levels unseen in 19 years.

The index reading for last month reached 113.2 points against 109.5 points in January.

Indeed, yesterday, when we were at Bazoches, there was a very nice quote from Jean Monnet, who has said: 'I am not pessimistic, I am not optimistic, I am determined.'

Every third Bulgarian expects a better 2020 than the previous, 2019. These numbers are according to a poll conducted by the Gallup International poll agency.

Globally, Bulgaria is close to the average of optimism. However, when it comes to personal happiness, we are still in the extreme places of the charts, sociologists comment.

Veteran market analysts know that the economy is determined above all by the economic climate, the atmosphere, expectations.

All the rest comes afterwards.

When expectations are reborn and a climate of optimism is restored everything frees up.

Consumers calm down and businessmen are more willing to take risks.