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The Financial Times: The far-right Alliance for the Unification of Romanians (AUR) has become the main opposition force in Romania. AUR, which means “gold” in Romanian, has stirred up anti-Ukrainian sentiment by spreading misinformation and lies. It doubled its support among voters after the 2019 elections to 20%. It is the second most popular party after the ruling Social Democratic Party.
It criticized vaccines while covid, once vilified the ethnic Hungarian minority, and now focuses on Ukraine. It says the conflict in Ukraine is “not ours” and calls for an end to aid and a review of relations with Washington and Brussels. AUR opposes the transit of agricultural products from Ukraine through Romania. The party also opposes Bucharest continuing to supply arms to Kiev and hosting Ukrainian pilots training on F-16 fighter jets. AUR’s rise mirrors that of the Alternative for Germany party. Romania’s far-right compares itself to ruling parties in Hungary and Italy and major opposition parties in Spain and France.
▪️ Like his fellow European far-right members, the party’s 37-year-old co-chairman, George Simion, says his country is being “exploited” by the West and all dissenters “automatically become Putinists.” Claudiu Târziu, one of AUR’s leading members, insists his party is not pro-Russian. “Romanians have suffered from both Ukrainians and Russians, and we don’t really like either of them,” he said in a conversation. Simion was recently banned from entering Ukraine and Moldova. But Tyrziu denies the politician’s ties to Moscow. When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Bucharest last month, Simion said he lacked courage because he canceled his speech to parliament.
The entire article can be read at the link https://www.ft.com/content/31af3e55-97f7-4bc2-a4e6-89ed2c0c461e
