Romania comes to terms with new political reality despite victory of pro-European forces

The leftist Social Democrat party is set to win Romania's parliamentary elections, with far-right populists making significant gains.

Transcript

00:00Romania is coming to terms with a new political reality.

00:06Despite their success in parliamentary elections, pro-Western parties are likely to form a coalition

00:12amid the rise in popularity of the far-right.

00:17Many observers believe the outcome was a protest vote, representing a sharp boost from mainstream

00:22parties to an anti-establishment movement.

00:27I think through yesterday's vote, Romanians wanted to send a clear message to their own

00:33politicians rather than to Europe.

00:36The significant increase in support for the extremists compared to 2020 shows that in

00:44Romania there is an important social discontent.

00:48Nevertheless, parts of yesterday's vote came from Romanians who wanted to defend their

00:55country's pro-EU stance, alarmed by the results in the first round of the presidential elections.

01:03Though the new parliament's composition means Romania will continue on its pro-Western and

01:08pro-Ukraine path, all eyes are on this weekend's presidential election and its potential repercussions

01:15in the region and across the EU.

01:19Ultra-nationalist Kallin Georgescu won the first round of the presidential election and

01:24is set to face the pro-European Elena Lascone in Sunday's showdown.

01:29I want to thank you for not playing the Russian roulette with the democracy in Romania and

01:40with this holy right to vote, free.

01:45The fragmentation of the vote has prompted pro-Western parties to start discussing possible

01:50coalition options in order to form a government.

01:53However, each of these possibilities points out to a government with reduced stability.

01:59And there is, of course, the great question mark regarding the results of the second round

02:03of presidential elections next Sunday between the ultra-nationalist candidate Kallin Georgescu

02:08and the pro-Western candidate Elena Lascone.