by Antoniu Martin*
A few days after the end of the local and European parliamentary elections, we can carry out a detached analysis of the meanings of this important moment for Romania. Some Western analysts have already stated that the Romanian electorate would be prone to radicalization after the June 9 elections. Furthermore, it is argued that the new generation, which entered the political game on this occasion, voting for the first time, was also pushed to vote with the radical right by new technologies, in particular by the Tik-Tok platform.
In relation to the above, it should be noted that unlike other European states – especially France, Belgium, Austria – in Romania the data resulting from the vote cannot lead to a similar interpretation. If in the countries mentioned the far right or sovereignist parties were in first place, in the case of Romania the percentages obtained by the two formations that take a sovereignist and nationalist orientation do not place them in first place.
The resulting mandates of the MEPs represent an even more relevant aspect from the above perspective: of the 33 mandates that Romania holds in the European Parliament, 19 were obtained by representatives of the PSD-PNL coalition, pro-European parties, 3 mandates went to the ADU (Alliance of the United Right), which always brings together pro-European groups, 2 mandates for the UDMR (Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania), also a pro-European democratic party, while AUR obtained 6 mandates and SOS Romania 2.
The last two parties, Alliance for the Union of Romanians and SOS Romania, are formations that assume sovereignty and nationalism. In their political discourse we encounter numerous anti-European accents, but also demagogic and populist elements. We see that, beyond the fact that the two parties entered the European Parliament, the local and European parliamentary elections – relevant from the point of view of the political message – were won by a coalition formed by the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party .
Naturally, the elections just concluded represent a real electoral test in view of this year’s autumn elections, i.e. the parliamentary and presidential ones which will take place in Romania. It will be a real test and we will see how the pro-European parties will manage to preserve at least the result obtained on 9 June. At a European level we are witnessing a radicalization of the electorate to the right, especially among the younger generations. After the last elections, Romania was and remains a country with a majority pro-European electorate.
* historian and political analyst
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