Working people in the new Europe suffered more from the recent economic crisis than counterparts. And, support for democracy and free markets varied sharply but slipped most in new Member states of the EU – some of conclusions of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Report – “Crisis and Transition: The People’s Perspective” . The Report explores the reasons behind an especially sharp drop in commitment to the principles of democracy and markets in the new Member States of the European Union and a surprising upswing in some other countries. Comparing Experiences: Post Communism & Current Financial Crisis: “People became less supportive of democracy if the recent crisis hit them hard relative to their memories of past crises. The findings of the report suggest that markets and democracy lost support in the more advanced transition countries because they experienced deeper downturns in this crisis than in earlier recessions in the early and mid 1990s. By comparison, the most recent crisis was generally milder in CIS countries than the output decline that followed the collapse of communism.” The report also finds compelling evidence to suggest that the crisis made people “turn against what they had”. Those who lived in more market-oriented and democratic societies and were affected by the crisis became less likely to choose democracy and markets over other systems. However, support for democracy and markets actually rose – in some cases quite sharply – in some of the less-advanced economies especially in the former Soviet Union. The Report says: “This is particularly true of crisis-hit people in the CIS countries who perceived a high degree of corruption. It may be that for those individuals, the crisis diminished any sympathy they may have had for state-led systems.” (Read – “More Jobs Needed or Globe Could Sink into Recession” - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/more-jobs-needed-or-globe-could-sink-into-recession-social-crisis-un-report-money-flash-by-ambassador-mo/39100 Different Consequences for Different Countries: According to the latest survey, Albania, Mongolia, Montenegro, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan remained among the countries with the highest levels of democracy support in the region. In the new survey, they were joined by Georgia, Kazakhstan, Belarus as well as Armenia, the country that saw the biggest change in democracy support levels in the past four years, showing a 28-point increase that brought it up from the 26th position in the region to 2nd, just behind the 2010 regional leader, Tajikistan. Among the more advanced transition countries, the backing for democracy dropped off particularly sharply in the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Hungary, with the Slovak support decreasing by over 20 percentage points. The Report also highlights the impact of the crisis on households in the transition region, pointing out that ordinary people were hit far harder by the downswing than their counterparts in western Europe. A sharper reduction in consumption in the EBRD region can be traced to more severe shocks such as job losses, as well as the less-effective safety nets that were available in emerging Europe to cope with such personal setbacks. The report also homes in on the impact of bank borrowing, especially linked to debts taken out before the crisis which may have left some households across the transition region vulnerable. (Read - “Global Recession? Worst of Times. Best of Times” - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/global-recession-best-of-times-worst-of-times-by-ambassador-mo/36338 ) Report Available at EBRD - www.ebrd.com/pages/news/press/2011/111115.shtml By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey

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