The four-party coalition that ruled Romaniafrom the summer 2025 up until just a few weeks ago was viewed by many as the country's last chance of preventing the far right from coming to power. It was hoped that solid governance an reforms would keep the extremists in check.

Yet this strategy appears to have failed. Romania's right-wing extremists are riding high in opinion polls, while its moderate parties are bogged down by political squabbling. It's been three weekssince liberal Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's government collapsed after his own camp launched a vote of no confidence, and none of the country's moderate parties have so far been able to agree who should succeeded him — even though President Nicusor Dan has done his utmost to mediate talks.

But that's not all. While the Bolojan government formally remains in power until it is replaced, Romania's Social Democrats (PSD), who hold most seats in parliament and supposedly support the EU, are increasingly collaborating with the far-right Alliance for the Unification of Romania (AUR). Indeed, political scientist Raluca Alexandrescu says Romania is seeing a "normalization of right-wing extremism."

Far right poses danger to Romania, Europe

A massive upheaval could ensue if the pro-Russian, anti-Ukrainian and anti-EU AUR comes to power, or even just plays a supporting role in a Romanian minority government.

After all, Romania is the sixth largest EU country and most important NATOmember state in southeastern Europe. It hosts some of the largest and most important NATO bases in the region. Romania has the longest EU border with Ukraine out of all member states and has consistently backed the embattled nation fighting back Russian invaders.

May's no confidence vote, initiated by PSD together with the AUR, was evidence that a dangerous normalization of the far right is ongoing. The PSD, for that matter, was part of Bolojan's coalition.

While there have been previous instances of moderate parties collaborated with right-wing extremists in Romanian parliament, this was the very first time they joined forces to bring down a government. This was the moment the far-right firewall crumbled.

While the PSD has often said it does not aim to form an alliance with the AUR, its actions speak another language. In mid-May, the PSD joined Romania's three far-right parties in supporting a legislative project in parliament's human rights committee to overturn a ban on anti-Semitic, fascist and racist propaganda. The move sparked a public outcry, leading the PSD to backtrack, with party leader Sorin Grindeanu claiming it had been a mere "slip up."

Last week, the PSD and AUR once again voted together, this time in Romania's upper chamber, the Senate, in favor of a non-governmental organization (NGO) law based on the Putin-Orban playbook. As a result, NGOs must now publish the names of donors if they contribute more than the equivalent of €1,000 per year. Several hundred NGOs have protested against the legislative project, so far in vain. NGOs active in Romania are already subject to strict transparency rules.

In late May, the PSD voted together with the far right in support of the so-called "We-are-not-selling-our-land" law, aimed to prevent the sale of minority shareholdings in state-owned companies. The law's name, incidentally, is reminiscent of a nationalist slogan from the 1990s.

The project was initially launched by the Bolojan government to boost the efficiency and transparency of state-owned companies suspected of corruption, while also generating revenue for Romania's crash-strapped state coffers.

Epitome of Romanian corruption

It is rather symbolic that the PSD backed the "We-are-not-selling-our-land" law, as the slogan dates back to the post-communist era, when it was used by the party's predecessor organization for the violent crackdown against anti-communist demonstrators, civil rights activists and opposition parties. After all, it was the PSD who governed the country following the 1989 fall of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. It was first known as the Front for National Salvation (FSN), later as the PSD. The PSD never apologized for this.

Many former Ceausescu cadres, securitate secret police officers and communist company directors joined the PSD after Ceausescu's regime collapsed, ensuring the same old elites remained in power after 1989/90. The party has therefore become the epitome of Romanian corruption. While calling itself social democratic, its ideology is right-wing nationalist-populist in orientation. As such, it is no surprise it already governed with ultra-nationalist, extremist parties in the 1990s.

Numerous other democratic parties have played their part in legitimizing Romania's far right in recent years. Among them the liberal Union Save Romania (USR), which joined the AUR in launching a motion of censure against the government in September 2021, though that vote never went ahead. Even so, this was the major step towards normalizing the extremists.

Romania's three far-right parties — the AUR, the SOS Romania party and the Party of Young People (POT) — currently control around 35% of seats in both chambers of the Romanian parliament. The AUR alone could currently secure 32% of the vote, according to recent polls. This puts it well ahead of the second most popular party, the PSD, with a projected vote share of 24%.

A snap election is therefore not in the interests of Romania's democratic parties. Observers nevertheless fear that the ongoing crisis as well as the PSD's political maneuvering will strengthen the far right ahead of the parliamentary elections in late 2028.

"PSD cooperating with AUR is a major strategic mistake that could transform the government crisis into a systemic crisis," warns political scientist Cristian Pirvulescu.

This article was translated from German