On the morning of 3 December, George Simion, leader of AUR-Alleanza per l’Unione dei Romeni, a centre-right party that has managed to increase its support exponentially since 2020, held a press conference with the international media, which was also attended by La Voce del Patriota, the only Italian publication to have had the opportunity to ask some crucial questions to the conservative Romanian politician.
‘AUR is the real winner of these elections in Romania’. Thus Simion at the opening of the press conference, at which he also wished to reiterate his belief ‘in transparency and open dialogue’.
‘Ours is a young party, I am a young politician,’ he continued, ‘and I am here to stay. These elections are not the end, but the beginning. Romania today is an important country at an important time and I am proud to say that the Romanian people believe that we (of AUR, ed) are one of their most important voices’.
AUR therefore shows that it is clearly ‘part of the solution and not a political problem’, because it knows ‘what is best for the country, and we are aware of the country’s problems. We are aware of the budget deficit, we are aware that the country also has a trade deficit, and we have a solution based on respect for foreign and local investors’.
“We are portrayed as nationalists who want to throw away our democratic heritage- he added- Instead, it is important to send a signal to the international markets: we are concerned about the economic situation, our trade deficit and our budget deficit. Our main objective is therefore to keep all the companies that work and respect Romanian and European law here in Romania, creating the best opportunities for them.”
Turning to the hottest topic, that of the second round of elections and the Georgescu-Lasconi clash, Simion pointed out that Georgescu, unlike the liberal candidate Elena Lasconi, “defends traditional family values, wants a more assertive Romania, and has something that Mrs Lasconi does not have: clarity.” So much so that he called Lasconi a two-faced candidate, and this according to Simion “Romanian voters don’t think they like”, because “in today’s society from leaders clarity is needed on what people expect”.
“I intend to take my role very seriously, whether in power, in the governing coalition or in opposition. We will bring solutions and be present in the public debate. As the second largest party in Romania and the main winner of these elections, we have a responsibility to propose a credible vision for the future. In the same way, I would like to reassure the financial markets that we are serious and that Romania remains a serious country, a country that will become and act even more seriously,’ he then closed, leaving room for journalists’ questions.
Among the newspapers present there were those who called the AUR an extreme right-wing party, just as much of the international press is doing. “I don’t know why the term extreme right is used. We are part of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) party. We are a conservative party. We are a right-wing party,’ the Romanian politician wanted to clarify, also adding that ‘we will talk to all the parties in Parliament. We believe in dialogue. We believe that dialogue can help our country in the future. We have no problems, we as a party, with other nations or other races.”
Le Figaro and Radio France also focused on the extreme-right discourse, also asking about the links and ideas in relation to the liberals in Romania versus Ludovic Orban’s new party, Forța Dreptei.
“As already mentioned, I support Mr Bolojan’s plan to reduce the costs of the Romanian bureaucracy. I do not know whether Mr Bolojan will still be the president of the National Liberal Party next week. We have similar ideas to many liberal leaders. I think it was a political mistake for the Liberals to go into government with the Socialists. I think it was a mistake for them to betray the national part, the national aspect of the NLP and the Christian part, the Christian group in the NLP that supported, for example, our traditional values. We have friends in the GNP and we want to work in the future with the part of the GNP that is not corrupt, that has not been involved in corruption scandals,’ was the Romanian politician’s firm response.
The Financial Times was then asked whether a coalition with the socialists was possible. “We do not want a coalition with the socialists,” Simion reiterated, emphasising how AUR is now “waiting for the result of the presidential race. If the Socialists are unable to create a government, we are willing to try to form one with members of parliament and future leaders, the future presidents of the main political parties. We do not know who will lead the Liberals, who will lead the Union Save Romania, who will lead the Socialist Party’.
Later interviewed by the Voice of the Patriot on the similarity with Fratelli d’Italia, and therefore on the possibility of somehow following the same path of growth followed by the Italian party, the AUR leader replied: ‘From our point of view, Giorgia Meloni is a model. We hope to follow the same path as FDI in Romania. Fratelli d’Italia shares our same political vision and we are in the same political family, that of European reformists and conservatives. And we hope that, as FDI, we will be number one in Romania’s preferences, through the citizens’ vote, through a serious policy built brick by brick.”
And on the subject of a possible conservative revolution in Europe, capable of uniting the various political forces in one common project, he commented: ‘Given what happened at the EU Commission, I would say that we must join forces with other political groups in the European Parliament. We were elected by the Romanian people and sent six representatives to the European Parliament. The various governments in Europe, but also in Romania and Italy in Renzi’s time, which included the right and the left, has shown us that this does not work. You cannot mix left and right because you create chaos. And you can see this in Germany right now, as well as in the European Commission, which does not work at all. If you have free elections, you have to let the people decide. But there must be people either from the right or the left in government. You cannot mix the left with the right, because then there is no point in having elections.”
“We are in favour of a Europe of nations, not a super federal state. European citizens are tired of politicians who do not have their own agenda. We are against corrupt, bureaucratic, power-hungry European soap bubbles. And we hope that, like the Italian model, we will succeed in stopping this corrupt bubble at the level of the European Council and the European Constitution,’ he finally concluded.
During the international press conference, the second for the young Romanian leader, Simion proved to be a well-prepared political figure, managing to disentangle himself from the various questions posed on both national and international issues. Without ever losing sight of the centrality of his and the AUR party’s vision, namely that of openness to dialogue. A dialogue that, however, does not renounce the defence of one’s own origins, history and culture. A foundation, this, common to all conservatives, of the EU and beyond.
The rise of the AUR party, as the leader himself reiterated, is but the beginning of a new story, for Romania and for Europe. And it has the air of having a different flavour. The conservative one.
