Reactions in Ukraine after the parliamentary election: Romania recovers from TikTok shock

Ukrainian observers have noted that Romania remains pro-European, while the risk remains that, if elected, president Georgescu might turn the country into a state similar to Orban's Hungary.

The top two winners: the prime minister's party and an “anti-Ukrainian” one

Evropeiska Pravda (European Truth) points out that the second-most voted political force in Romania is AUR party. “The Social-Democratic Party is the biggest party in Romania, and its representative, Marcel Ciolacu, holds the position of prime minister. AUR is a far-right opposition alliance, which champions profoundly anti-Ukrainian sentiments, led by George Simion”, Evropeiska Pravda writes.

Kyiv-based journalists write that in last week’s presidential election, Ciolacu failed to secure enough votes to reach the second round, despite sociologists’ predictions. “His failure in the presidential election did not prevent his party from winning the parliamentary election”, the Ukrainian publication notes.

The newspaper emphasizes the overall backdrop of the election, recalling the first round of the presidential election, when the largest number of votes was grabbed by “far-right chauvinist and pro-Russian Călin Georgescu”. The Ukrainian publication writes that Romania is gradually recovering from the shock caused by the difficult-to-explain influence of the social network TikTok, recommending to its readers an analysis entitled “TikTok changes Romania: how our neighbors overcome democratic decline”.

Pro-European parties remain in power

In turn, zahid.net notes that negotiations will be long and difficult in order to form a government, which are closely linked to the results of the second round of the presidential election.

Journalist and political analyst Vitaly Portnikov, who runs an important YouTube channel in Ukraine, argues that pro-European parties will manage to stay in power and find common ground to govern together. “The massive turnout was due to the shockwave that swept the country after the first round of the presidential election, won by the far-right candidate, Călin Georgescu. The TikTok candidate shocked those who want their country to remain in the EU, to be part of the free world. I am sure that Georgescu will be defeated in the second round, if it proceeds as planned”, Portnikov claims.

The Ukrainian journalist describes the growing popularity of AUR, a party that has become the country’s second-largest political force. “A few years back, Simion could barely grab 2% of the vote in the European Parliament election, and now his party has become the second party in Romania, the very same party Călin Georgescu was a member of”, the Ukrainian journalist says.

Will Romania become similar to Viktor Orban's Hungary?

The RBK-Ukraina news agency also expressed concern at the potential transformation of Romania into a new Hungary, which will be a “troublesome neighbor” for Ukraine.

Romania is a presidential-parliamentary republic, meaning that the head of state can influence decisions on the supply of weapons to Ukraine, can cancel sanctions imposed on Russia and can influence Ukraine's integration into the EU and NATO. However, the good news for Ukraine is that Parliament has mechanisms at its disposal to balance state policy, even if Georgescu becomes president, RBK-Ukraina writes.

“Regardless of the result of this election in the long run, the same trend can be observed in Romania as in other Western countries – populists consolidating their position, arguing they oppose the current establishment”, political analyst Vitalii Diachuk underlines, adding that the most common false narrative in Eastern Europe is that of voting for leaders who “will not bow their heads” to officials from Brussels, but are eager to talk “with their heads up”.

Examining the result of the parliamentary election in Romania, RBK-Ukraina writes in another article that it may influence Bucharest’s policymaking regarding support for Ukraine. “This election reflected a social rift in the country, where the poorest regions of the EU require investment, and internal squabble and corruption scandals have weakened the positions of pro-European forces”, the Kyiv-based publication notes.