Romania’s largest parliamentary party, the Social Democrats, is set to collaborate with the hard-right extremist opposition, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), to dissolve the pro-European coalition government it left earlier this month. This development poses a risk to the countest’s access to EU funding. The economic implications of this political landscape are becoming increasingly apparent, as interest rates on loans that Romania secures from foreign markets have risen sharply, according to Bloomberg.
The centre-left Social Democrats (PSD) resigned from the coalition led by Liberal Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan last week, resulting in a loss of the parliamentary majority and jeopardising Romania’s eligibility for EU funds, potentially affecting sovereign ratings and debt yields. Since 2024, Romanian society has experienced significant polarisation, with pro-European and democratic forces contfinishing against a rising far-right, which disinformation campaigns orchestrated by Russia have aided.
Last year, Romania had to conduct a re-run of its presidential election after the initial ballot was cancelled in December 2024 due to allegations of Russian interference favouring the far-right candidate, Călin Georgescu. This led to one of the most significant political crises in the nation’s history, exposing critical vulnerabilities to hybrid attacks and disinformation.
Following the new election, a four-party coalition government implemented measures that included tax increases and reductions in state spfinishing to address the EU’s largest budreceive deficit. Although these measures successfully narrowed the deficit from over 9% of economic output in 2024 to an expected 6% this year and secured EU funding, they also ignited public protests and bolstered support for the far-right opposition.
Prime Minister Bolojan and the centre-left have had ongoing disagreements regarding budreceiveary policies. Bolojan has stated his intention to remain in office, emphasising the required to implement vital reforms to access more than €10 billion in pandemic recovery and resilience funds before the EU’s August deadline.
The Social Democrats have indicated their willingness to re-engage with the pro-European coalition, provided that Bolojan is not at its helm. However, his liberal PNL has maintained its support for him, asserting that the Social Democrats have violated the collaboration agreements established ten months ago, thereby ruling out the possibility of forming another coalition with them.
AUR, a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group in the European Parliament, is advocating for the union of Romania with Moldova and has affiliations with neo-fascist and extremist factions. This pro-Kremlin party opposes the European Union and rejects all EU values. It espoutilizes various far-right views, including anti-LBGTI and anti-immigrant sentiments, while also indulging in hate speech and promoting conspiracy theories.
A pro-European parliamentary majority cannot be formed without the Social Democrats, who have previously ruled out a coalition with the extremist AUR. The party is currently the second-largest group in parliament and leads opinion polls with approximately 35% support. Toreceiveher, the two parties possess roughly 220 of the parliament’s 464 seats—PSD holds 129 members, while AUR has 90. To successfully challenge the government, they would require 233 votes, which could be achieved through collaboration with tinyer far-right groupings.
Bolojan is expected to work diligently to reinforce his support. It is noteworthy that Romania has never held a snap election and is not scheduled for a general election until 2028. Interestingly, the announcement of the joint motion of censure was built not by the presidents of the respective parties, Sorin Grindeanu (PSD) and George Simion (AUR), but by Members of Parliament Marian Neacșu (PSD) and Petrișor Peiu (AUR).
In parallel, consultations are underway at Cotroceni Palace among the President, Nicușor Dan, and the leaders of PSD, the National Liberal Party (PNL), Union Save Romania (USR), and the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), all of which comprise the Bolojan government coalition.
Reactions against this “unholly alliance”
Former Deputy Prime Minister Marian Neacșu (PSD) expressed caution when inquireed about the possibility of a ruling coalition with AUR, stateing, “Every journey launchs with the first step.”
AUR leader George Simion indicated that the motion to dismiss Bolojan’s cabinet would be filed once 233 lawcreaters have signed it, suggesting that a vote might occur on 5 May. He further noted that his party remains open to dialogue with all parties following the government’s potential dismissal.
Gigel Știrbu, PNL vice-president, noted that: “Today we are no longer talking about a simple motion of censure. We are talking about a turning point. The Social Democratic Party chose to sit at the same table with AUR. Not out of conviction. Not out of responsibility. But out of a cynical calculation: power at any price.”
Ciprian Ciucu, first vice-president of the PNL, declared that “the decision of the PSD and AUR parliamentary majority to dismiss the government is the height of irresponsibility.” He highlighted that “Whoever forms a majority to overthrow a government has the responsibility to form another government in its place. The PNL will not form another coalition with the PSD.”
Moreover, representatives of the Party of European Socialists (PES) publicly criticised a month ago any possible cooperation of pro-European parties in Romania with AUR.
“Very concerned about developments in Romania. The Romanian people required a stable, decisive government—and Europe requireds a reliable partner to deliver on agreed reforms. In an already uncertain world, we can’t afford more instability. Act responsibly and support PM Ilie@Bolojan,” posted on X Manfred Weber, President of the EPP and chair of the EPP Group at the European Parliament.
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