At the end of 2024, Romania was plunged into the most serious political crisis of its entire membership of the European Union. The country, long considered one of the EU and NATO’s most reliable allies in Eastern Europe, faced a prolonged crisis of authority, widespread distrust of state institutions and a rapid rise in the popularity of far-right forces. The main beneficiary of this process was the AUR party (‘Alianța pentru Unirea Românilor’, Alliance for the Union of Romanians), which in just a few years went from being a marginal nationalist movement to one of the country’s most influential political forces.
Events from 2024 to 2026 show that the AUR’s success cannot be explained solely by nationalist rhetoric or the influence of social media. Behind the party’s rise in popularity lie social, economic and political processes that have gradually eroded Romanian society’s trust in the existing system of government.
Since joining the European Union in 2007, Romania has demonstrated sustained economic growth. However, behind these external successes, there were chronic problems. Corruption scandals regularly affected representatives of the largest political parties. Millions of Romanians left the country in search of work in Western Europe, and it is estimated that the Romanian diaspora numbers over 5 million people, which is one of the highest emigration rates in the EU. The public was particularly dissatisfied with the rapprochement between the two largest political forces: The Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL), who formed a governing coalition despite their ideological differences. Many Romanians began to view such a ‘union’ as a political cartel, primarily focused on maintaining power.
The rise in prices following the pandemic, the consequences of the energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the decline in living standards have intensified protest movements. This created a political niche for forces opposing the ‘established’ political participants.
The presidential elections of 2024 were the culmination of the crisis. On 24 November, in the first round, the independent far-right candidate Cătălin Georgescu unexpectedly won, receiving around 23 percent of the vote, thereby leaving many representatives of the country’s political establishment behind. This result came as a shock to the Romanian elite, as just a few weeks before the vote, he was not considered a serious contender for victory. His campaign relied heavily on activity on social media, particularly on TikTok.
However, on 6 December 2024, the Constitutional Court of Romania made an unprecedented decision to annul the results of the first round of the presidential elections and restart the electoral process. This was based on declassified materials from the security services indicating possible foreign interference, opaque campaign financing and large-scale manipulation in the digital space.
ccording to published data, the security services have identified tens of thousands of suspicious accounts on social networks and over 85,000 cyberattacks on electoral infrastructure. Additionally, the authorities are investigating the origin of the funds used to promote K.Djorgescu’s campaign.
The Constitutional Court’s decision sparked a strong reaction from society. Jorjeseanu himself called what happened a ‘state coup’. Even some pro-European politicians acknowledged that cancelling the election results could seriously damage trust in Romania’s democratic institutions, and it is against this backdrop that AUR’s popularity has grown.
he party itself was founded in 2019 by the social activist George Simion and his allies, who promoted the ideas of uniting Romania and Moldova, defending traditional values, and strengthening the role of the Orthodox Church. AUR’s breakthrough came in 2020, when it unexpectedly received around 9 percent of the vote in parliamentary elections and entered parliament. At the time, many experts considered this success to be a mere coincidence. However, subsequent events have shown that the party has managed to establish a solid political base.
Today, AUR is one of the largest opposition forces in the country. The organisation has a well-established network of regional branches, youth structures and activists, both within Romania and among the large diaspora. Unlike traditional parties, AUR actively uses modern digital technologies, with social networks becoming the main tool for the political mobilisation of its supporters.
AUR’s political platform is based on a combination of nationalist, conservative and populist ideas. The party’s rhetoric focuses on defending Romanian sovereignty and national identity. Social conservatism plays a significant role, manifesting in opposition to the expansion of LGBT+ rights, support for traditional family models, and emphasising the unique role of the Orthodox Church in public life.
ocial research shows that the AUR electorate is diverse, but the party receives the most consistent support from residents of small towns and rural areas, as these are the places where the consequences of economic difficulties, inadequate infrastructure and dissatisfaction with central government policies are particularly acute. According to INSCOP’s 2025 sociological survey, around 49% of rural residents expressed a willingness to vote for AUR, compared to around 30% of urban residents, which also indicates a fairly high level of support.
significant proportion of the party’s electoral base is made up of young people who actively consume political content on platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Telegram. These digital platforms have become one of the key tools for mobilising AUR supporters, enabling the party to bypass traditional channels of political communication. A special category of supporters is made up of Romanians working abroad. Many of the millions of Romanians living abroad believe that mass emigration is a consequence of the inability of traditional political parties to provide decent living conditions in the country. AUR consistently appeals to these sentiments, presenting itself as a political force capable of returning sovereignty to the state and restoring the connection between the government and society.
ne of the most controversial aspects of AUR’s activities is its funding. The party officially receives funding from several sources: state subsidies, membership fees and donations. As a parliamentary party, it has the right to budgetary funding. However, AUR is regularly accused of having possible external links. Romanian intelligence services have repeatedly highlighted the similarities between the party’s positions and Russian information narratives. In particular, this concerns criticism of military aid to Ukraine, attacks on European institutions and the promotion of conspiracy theories. Nevertheless, it is important to emphasise that there are currently no published court rulings or officially confirmed evidence of direct funding of AUR by Russian entities. All accusations remain the subject of political struggle and investigations.
ay, Romania is facing several possible scenarios for the development of events. The first of these envisages a stabilisation of the situation and the retention of power by the traditional parties, but to achieve this, they will have to rebuild the falling trust of society. The second scenario envisages a further rise in AUR’s popularity, which could bring it to power through democratic elections. In this case, the country could face serious changes in its internal and external policies. The third option involves the formation of a nationalist coalition with other right-wing radical forces. However, the most dangerous scenario is a prolonged government crisis in Romania, caused by a significant portion of society continuing to view the cancellation of the presidential election results as politically motivated, which will further erode trust in state institutions.