Thirty years ago, a wave of optimism swept across Europe as walls and regimes fell, and long-oppressed publics embraced open societies, open markets and a more united Europe. Three decades later, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that few people in the former Eastern Bloc regret the monumental changes of 1989-1991.
In the U.S., concerns about political corruption are especially widespread. Two-in-three Americans agree that the phrase “most politicians are corrupt” describes their country well.
Despite broadly positive sentiments among Germans about the changes of the past 30 years, views differ in some notable ways in the former West and East.