The Economist About AUR, Party Led by George Simion: Romania’s Hard Right Looks Strong

The speakers then denounced the “invasion” of Europe by Muslims and of America by illegal migrants. There was prolonged applause when Donald Trump’s name was mentioned and when speakers denounced gay and trans “ideology” and “godless” bureaucrats in Brussels, the source said.

For AUR, the event held in the vast halls of the Parliament was less about the formation of international unity than about the national campaign. George Simion’s party is an adept of advertising, writes the quoted source: his videos on TikTok are clever, and the huge election posters present Vlad Dracula, the Romanian medieval hero and prince also known as Vlad Ţepes.

Romanians were shocked when AUR, a party founded in 2019, took 9.1% of the votes in the following year’s general elections, writes the quoted source. For much of 2023 AUR was the second most popular party with around 20% support in opinion polls (it has since dropped to 17%).

This led the ruling parties to run on a joint list for the European elections, and Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu promised to “defend Romania from extremism”.

The four main pillars of the AUR program are freedom, Christianity, family and “nation unity”, terms vague enough to attract a wide range of supporters, including right-wing xenophobes, opponents of gay marriage and eco-nationalists who believe that foreign firms exploit Romania’s natural resources, according to The Economist.

Simion stated that it is impossible “to go back 100 years ago” and that “we want the rights of Romanians living in Ukraine now to be respected”.

The results of the June 9 elections “will set the political agenda for the next ten years,” said Remus Stefureac, head of Inscop Research, a polling firm.

38% of Romanians believe that far-right nationalism is a threat, the quoted source also writes.

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