Romanian ruling coalition ahead in European election poll
BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romania’s ruling coalition of leftist Social Democrats (PSD) and centre-right Liberals (PNL) are tipped to get 43.7% of votes in the June 9 European Parliament election, an opinion poll showed on Tuesday, with the opposition hard right AUR in second place.
The survey by pollster INSCOP showed that 17.5% of Romanians would vote for the Alliance for Uniting Romanians (AUR), a hard right group founded five years ago which opposes migration and military aid for Ukraine.
European Union member Romania holds local and European elections on June 9, with parliamentary and presidential polls later this year.
The two ruling parties are running on joint lists in the European election in a bid to stem gains for AUR, which swept into parliament for the first time in the last national election in 2020 with 9% of votes and has seen its support continue to rise as multiple crises have eroded trust in state institutions.
“AUR positions itself against the political establishment, capitalising on voters’ frustration, which has been acute in recent years,” said political commentator Radu Magdin.
“However, we must also take into account the high numbers of undecided voters, which may influence results last-minute.”
The Social Democrats of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and the Liberals formed a grand coalition government in late 2021, together with junior ethnic Hungarian party UDMR, which quit the cabinet last year in a row over cabinet posts.
INSCOP data showed UDMR would get 6% of votes. An alliance of centre-right parties led by the opposition Save Romania Union (USR) would get 14.1% of votes.
Just over half, or 51.3%, of those polled said they would turn out to vote, the survey showed, with trust in state institutions weakened by corruption, red tape and poor communication.
