The significant performance of the three far-right parties in the general election on 1 December posed an existential threat to Romanian democracy. The results followed a shocking first round for the presidential elections that brought Calin Georgescu (Călin Georgescu), a far-right, pro-Kremlin and anti-EU candidate, decisively helped by a Russian disinformation campaign through social media, to the top of the poll. In front of the threats of a rising far-right that is irredentist and racist for Romania’s economy, defence and security, and democratic institutions, the pro-European parties agreed on Wednesday to form a majority government.
Pro-Western parties received the most votes in the recent elections, with the leftist Social Democratic Party (PSD) arriving first. Late Tuesday, the PSD agreed to form a grand coalition with the centre-right National Liberal Party (PNL), the reformist Save Romania Union (USR), and the smaller ethnic Hungarian party, UDMR.
Romania recently experienced a coalition between socialists and conservatives, which many consider successful. In 2021, despite historically being Romania’s two main opposition parties that have dominated post-communist politics, the PSD and the PNL formed an unlikely but increasingly strained coalition with UDMR, which exited the Cabinet last year after a power-sharing dispute.
The results of the presidential election’s first round and the revealing of large-scale Russian interference and allegations of electoral violations plunged the European Union and NATO member countries into turmoil. Romanian telecom regulators asked on 28 November for a temporary ban on TikTok and a broader EU-wide probe while investigating a potential disrupting role the social media platform had on the first round of presidential elections. On 6 December, the European Commission decided to step up security concerns about voters’ data and ordered TikTok to freeze electors’ data for the next four months to respond to concerns from Romanian authorities over interference in the country’s presidential elections. Finally, days before the second round of the presidential election on 8 December, the Constitutional Court annulled the entire procedure of the presidential race.
Despite the considerable rise of the far-right vote, pro-Western parties won the parliamentary election on 1 December. “In the coming days, the four parties and the representatives of the national minorities will work on a joint governing program, focusing on development and reforms, while addressing the priorities of Romanian citizens,” the coalition statement said.
A common democratic candidate for President?
As it is unclear whether Georgescu will be allowed to run in the new vote, the far-right parties plan to support him or, in case of his exclusion, another candidate. George Simion, President of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), an ECR member, says he will not run in the 2025 presidential elections and will support Calin Georgescu.
“Whether we like it or not, it is the will expressed by the Romanians in the first round and from what we could see in the second round,” Simion told Digi24.ro.
However, if Georgescu is not allowed to run, AUR also has a “plan B,” and Simion doesn’t rule out any option. The AUR President also participated in the first round of the November presidential elections, arriving fourth with 13.86% (1.281.325 votes).
President Klaus Iohannis, whose second term ends later this month, stated that a new date for the rerun of the presidential election will be determined once the new government is in place. On Wednesday, he signed a decree to convene parliament on 20 December.
A statement from the new coalition said the parties would potentially support a “common pro-European candidate” in the new presidential elections. This option could isolate any far-right candidate and demonstrate that the pro-EU political parties in Romania are put above the strict party interest, the interest of Romania.
However, it is not given that the far-right will have such a spectacular performance in the new elections. If Georgescu runs, then the three far-right parties – AUR, S.O.S. Romania and the Party of Young People (POT) – will massively support the winner of the annulled election of November. This far-right bloc will face several challenges if he is prevented from participating.
The Romanian far right is deeply divided. S.O.S. Romania and POT are split from AUR, and their leaders were significant members of the party of Simion. The three parties fight each other for dominance in the far-right and generally nationalist environment. Thus, choosing a common candidate if Georgescu is out of the next presidential race would be very difficult.
The gloomy environment of the Romanian far-right
Three political parties, all moving around nationalism, irredentism, anti-vaccination, and conspiracy theories, strive to attract the far-right vote in Romania. The biggest is the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, established in September 2019, which aims to unify all Romanians inside and outside the Romanian borders. AUR advocates for the unification of Moldova and the lands with Romanian speakers in neighbouring countries with Romania. The party also questions the local autonomy of the vast Hungarian minority in Romania. AUR embraces Orthodox fundamentalism, considering its members as “the defenders of the Church”.
Simion opposes Romania’s military support for Ukraine and the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products through Romania. Consequently, he has been banned from entering Ukraine. Interestingly, despite its pro-Kremlin positions and dangerous irredentism, AUR is an ECR member with 6 MEPs. It also played a key role in rejecting the Hungarian Fidesz—the party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán—application to ECR membership last Spring due to Orbán’s claims on Romanian territory.
The lack of democracy in this environment produced two splits within AUR. First, was expelled Senator Diana Șoșoacă and joined the S.O.S. Romania party (established in 2021). Șoșoacă, an MEP since the last European elections, asked for Romania’s exit from the EU and openly supported the Russian Federation. She is accused of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories. Last October, the Romanian Constitutional Court removed her from the presidential race. The party supports the idea of a Greater Romania, including territories of Ukraine. Thus, Ukraine has also sanctioned its leader. S.O.S. Romania elected two seats in the European Parliament and tried to join the extremist Europe of Sovereign Nations group headed by Alternative for Germany (AfD). However, it was rejected due to its irredentism and claims over neighbouring countries’ territories.
Finally, in July 2023, another split in AUR provoked by Anamaria Gavrilă led to the establishment of the Party of Young People (POT). POT is an extreme right, sovereigntist, anti-Western, and anti-vaccination party attached to Orthodox fundamentalism. The party supported the candidacy of independent Călin Georgescu in the 2024 presidential election.
