Romania is turning hard to the right. Three far-right parties are likely to enter parliament, with a total of 30 percent of the vote. It follows that the ultra-nationalist forces have tripled their results compared to the penultimate elections, writes ARD.
Of these, the Alliance for the Unification of Romania received the most votes - about 17.6 percent. Its chairman George Simion especially thanked his supporters for "raising the tricolor and not forgetting their ancestors".
Right-wing voters in Romania
Even during the presidential elections a week ago, the first place was surprisingly taken by the non-party right-wing extremist Calin Georgescu - a religious fanatic and follower of the Romanian fascists from the period between the two world wars.
Now, in the parliamentary elections, it was seen that the many votes for Georgescu were not unexpected, believes the political scientist Cristian Pervulescu, quoted by ARD: "There are right-wing voters in Romania - not tied to a separate personality, as some thought. It is about voters with a value system built over time that prefers a certain type of candidate".
The eventual coming to power of right-wing forces depends largely on the Social Democratic Party, which came out on top in the parliamentary elections with 22.9 percent. Its former prime minister, Marcel Călăcu, refrained from attacking right-wing forces: "Today's result deserves all our attention, as it is an important signal sent by Romanians to the political class. We must continue to develop our country with European funds, while preserving our identity, national values and faith.
Now the Social Democratic Party has a choice: it can form a comfortable parliamentary majority with both right-wing parties and pro-European forces. The editor-in-chief of "Newsweek" Sabin Orchan suggests that the Social Democrats will be under pressure from abroad to create a pro-Western government. ARD quoted him as saying: "I believe that the European political family and good advice will eventually make the Social Democratic Party understand that the alliance with the extreme right and with small extremist parties will lead to its disappearance.
Before the presidential runoff
The Union for the Salvation of Romania of the presidential candidate Elena Lasconi could also become part of a broad pro-Western alliance. In light of alleged Russian interference in the first round of the presidential election, Lasconi said Russian bots could not have destroyed Romanian democracy. "It became clear to me that now it is no longer about candidates and political pariahs - it is about democracy in Romania and staying in the EU and NATO.
For Lasconi, there is still no certainty that he will reach the second round of the presidential elections, notes ARD. The Constitutional Court has ordered a recount, with the results expected any moment. The Constitutional Court will also discuss the proposals to cancel the presidential elections.
Author: Zylke Hanne (ARD)