Analyze: How the Romanian diaspora helped put a new far-right party on the political map!

At Romania’s parliamentary elections on 6 December, a new far-right party, the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), secured a major surprise by winning around 9% of the vote. Magdalena Ulceluse explains why diaspora voters were key to the party’s success.

On 6 December, the Romanian people were asked to elect a new parliament. The polling projected only a slight change to the balance of power. As always, it was expected that the country’s mainstream parties would account for most of the vote, with each serving their usual voter bases and clientele. But this parliamentary election was to prove to be different in one crucial respect.