September 2024
This report has been prepared with support from IRI’s Beacon Project. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of IRI.
Executive summary
Public opinion and politics. For many years, Romania has been considered safe from Russian influence due to the long-standing suspicions the people and elites alike harbour against Russian imperialism. Nevertheless, this strong point has been heavily eroded in recent years as far right parties have prospered at the polls and in elections. The AUR party has a more evasive pro-Russian stance while SOS has an openly pro-Russian position. Together they have around 20% in polls. Both parties have exceeded the electoral threshold in elections for the EU Parliament and are trying to leverage momentum for the parliamentary and presidential elections this year.