Historian Cosmin Popa explains AUR and George Simion need democracy to secure full power
Romania's Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) and its leader, George Simion, played a decisive role in preventing the confirmation of Prime Minister-designate Adrian Vestea on June 22, but their actions should not be interpreted as a defence of democratic principles, historian Cosmin Popa said in the Vorbitorincii podcast hosted by journalist Cătălin Striblea.
According to Popa, political forces seeking to concentrate power often rely on democratic mechanisms to facilitate their rise. "The non-democratic parties that seek to seize all power actually need democracy to facilitate their win," Popa said.
The failure of Vestea's nomination blocked a broader political plan that would have relied on his appointment to consolidate control over the Liberal Party (PNL), after President Nicușor Dan nominated the dissident Liberal politician as prime minister-designate.
Popa argued that beyond preventing a move perceived by some as harmful to democratic procedures, AUR secured several political gains from the episode.
Before the parliamentary vote, AUR leaders held talks with Vestea and representatives of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), creating expectations that the party could provide the votes needed for his confirmation. After the nomination failed, Vestea promptly accepted an invitation from Simion and visited AUR headquarters.
Marian Neacșu, the senior PSD member who had been expected to become deputy prime minister in a Vestea cabinet, also described AUR and Simion in favourable terms when questioned by journalists about the possibility of parliamentary support from a party that PSD had previously characterised as extremist.
Simion subsequently asked President Nicușor Dan to explicitly remove the "extremist" label attached to AUR. Although the request was not granted, the AUR leader raised the possibility of initiating procedures to suspend the president from office during consultations held with the head of state the following day.
Speaking in the podcast, Popa suggested that such developments illustrate how anti-establishment or illiberal movements can seek legitimacy and political leverage through democratic institutions while pursuing broader ambitions of consolidating power.
(Photo source: Inquam Photos|Sabin Cirstoveanu)
