Romanian social democrats are resisting for now the rise of the far-right in the legislative elections, according to first polls

MADRID Dec. 1 () –

The first exit polls of the legislative elections held this Sunday in Romania grant for now a certain advantage to the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD), of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, which for the moment seems to contain the emergence of extreme right and nationalism , protagonists of an enormous jump in popularity since the last elections.

Right now, and without counting the important votes of the diaspora, the PSD obtains 26 percent of the votes, seven points ahead of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), the far-right formation chaired by George Simion, which In any case, he sees how it has risen almost 20 points compared to the last legislative elections.

The PSD, for its part, has lost six percentage points, according to surveys and estimates collected by the Romanian portal Capital. The also conservative Union to Save Romania (USR) of the presidential candidate Elena Lasconi is third in voting intention, with 15.5 percent; tied with the liberals (PNL).

Although until now the ideological differences in Romania have been between conservatives and progressives, the current political situation has led to a confrontation between pro-Europeanists and Eurosceptic nationalists, from which impossible alliances such as that of social democrats and the USR could emerge.

A “very possible” scenario that was already suggested during the week by Prime Minister Ciolacu, who added the Liberals, also in crisis, to this equation, all with the aim of not hindering the rest of Romania’s European aspirations, such as the adoption of the euro as currency.

The rise of the far right represents reinforcement for the surprising ultranationalist candidate Calin Georgescu in the face of the still uncertain presidential elections that will pit him against Lasconi. Although Romania is a parliamentary democracy, the figure of the president influences the political agenda, making it difficult to govern without some collaboration.