Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
S.O.S. Romania
Political party in Romania From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
S.O.S. Romania (Romanian: S.O.S. România) is a far-right political party in Romania that was founded in 2021. The party is considered to be right-wing populist, socially conservative, and irredentist. Additionally, the party is known for its Eurosceptic stance, and is considered more radical than the right-wing to far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR). S.O.S Romania has been described as being closely tied to Russia.[8][9] Since 2022, the party has been led by Diana Șoșoacă, then a member of the Senate of Romania, who had been elected on the AUR list.[10]
Remove ads
History
The party was founded in November 2021 by Maricel Viziteu and Adeluța and Gabriel Gib, the latter being a former member of the Romanian Socialist Party (PSR).[2] It became known on the Romanian political landscape in May 2022 after senator Diana Șoșoacă, elected on the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) list, joined the party and later became its leader.[10]
Political analyst and former politician Miron Mitrea stated that the party had a support level of 5–6% in the election polls as of July 2023.[11] Șoșoacă replied that its support level was much higher and told people not to trust the polls.[12]
On 13 October 2023, S.O.S. Romania expressed its intention to join the Identity and Democracy Party in the European Parliament.[13][14] However, it was later reported the S.O.S. Romania would join an alliance led by Alternative for Germany instead.[15] On 28 June 2024, the Alternative for Germany declined the application of S.O.S. Romania to join their European Parliament group,[16] with the Hungarian nationalist party Our Homeland Movement stating that this was at their request.[17]
Remove ads
Political views
Summarize
Perspective
Diana Șoșoacă, leader of S.O.S. România, espouses a cluster of far-right nationalist, sovereigntist and populist positions that have increasingly stirred controversy. She has vocally called for Romania's withdrawal from the European Union (RO‑Exit), characterizing EU membership as destructive, and has denounced NATO as an institution that drags Romania into unnecessary conflicts.[18] Although her party professes to oppose “Russian and Chinese dictatorships” and claims the label “Eurorealist” rather than Eurosceptic,[19] Șoșoacă herself has openly embraced pro‑Russian posturing—visiting the Russian embassy in Bucharest multiple times, including on Russia Day, and even writing an open letter to Vladimir Putin urging the "return" of territories she asserts historically belong to Romania.[20][21][22]
Her rhetoric extends to irredentist demands, advocating for the denunciation of the 1997 treaty with Ukraine and asserting claims over Northern Bukovina, Bessarabia, Budjak, and Snake Island—an initiative Ukraine responded to with a three‑year entry ban for her.[23] Post-pandemic, she gained notoriety opposing COVID-19 restrictions and vaccines; she later carried this confrontational style into the European Parliament, where she disparaged the institution as undemocratic and staged theatrical protests, once even voting in folk costume while displaying religious imagery and waving criticisms at EU officials.[24] Her combative tone and pro‑Russian and antisemitic rhetoric led to her disqualification from the 2024 and 2025 presidential races by Romania's Constitutional Court, which cited her statements as incompatible with the duties of the presidency.[25][26] Ideologically, her platform has been characterized as Romanian nationalism.[28] ultranationalism,[29] Romanian irredentism,[8] social conservatism,[32] sovereigntism,[34] right-wing populism,[38] Russophilia,[39][40] and Hard Euroscepticism[42]
Remove ads
Electoral history
European elections
Legislative elections
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads