Far-right exploits Romanian parliament internships to indoctrinate youth

New evidence reveals that Romania’s far-right, led by George Simion, is exploiting the “Know Your Parliament” initiative to indoctrinate young people, recruiting them for political conflicts and advancing the party’s agenda. EUalive partner PressOne.ro reveals.

Dimitrie, a Bucharest-based resident physician, joined the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) in December 2023, attracted by its anti-establishment rhetoric and promise of political renewal. Frustrated by Romania’s struggling medical system and disillusioned with established parties like Social Democratic Party (PSD), National Liberal Party (PNL), and the once-anti-system Save Romania Union (USR), he saw AUR as a fresh force for change.

After a conversation with Răzvan Biro, head of AUR’s youth wing and a deputy from Mureș, Dimitrie was recruited as a “valuable resource” and tasked with coordinating the “Know Your Parliament” internship program.

Marketed as an educational initiative to teach young Romanians about the parliamentary system, the program instead served as a tool for ideological indoctrination and unpaid labor, revealing AUR’s manipulative tactics to exploit impressionable youth for political gain.

Dimitrie expected to guide interns through the workings of Romania’s Parliament and its interactions with government institutions.

Instead, he found sessions dominated by attacks on rival parties, particularly USR, and conspiratorial narratives about Western agendas and global interests. Party leaders, including Claudiu Târziu, used these meetings to promote AUR’s ultranationalist vision, sidelining any focus on civic education.

The selection process further exposed the program’s true intent. While officially open to all, recruiters were encouraged to screen out applicants with ties to other parties, ensuring only those sympathetic to AUR’s ideology were accepted.

Dimitrie, involved in recruitment, noted that candidates linked to USR or PSD were often rejected, despite his objections to such exclusionary practices.

Beyond indoctrination, interns were assigned tasks unrelated to parliamentary education. Under George Simion’s authoritarian leadership, participants were directed to make hundreds of phone calls to reengage AUR supporters, using data from initiatives like the “Medical Caravan” or the party’s mobile app, “AUR Platform.”

These calls, often disguised as holiday greetings, probed supporters’ membership status, app usage, and interest in AUR events, with responses meticulously logged in detailed spreadsheets.

Dimitrie raised concerns about the inappropriateness of such work, but the pressure to comply was intense. Many interns, especially those from outside Bucharest housed in accommodations owned by AUR-affiliated figures, feared expulsion—a significant threat for young participants who had committed to the program and faced the prospect of returning home in disgrace.

AUR’s communication strategy extended to social media, where interns were urged to post pro-party content and display AUR insignia on platforms like TikTok.

Those who generated significant engagement were praised, with particular attention given to more presentable or attractive participants, a tactic Dimitrie identified as central to AUR’s approach.

This mirrored a broader strategy of emotional manipulation, where the party’s media team, accompanying Simion, was instructed to highlight images of vulnerable individuals, such as crying elderly women, to sway public sentiment.

Another source, Radu, a video editor for Simion’s 2024 presidential campaign, corroborated this, recalling discussions where AUR’s propaganda coordinators, including deputy Mugur Mihăescu and youth organizer Robert Uleia, prioritized recruiting “good-looking” TikTok influencers to amplify the party’s message.

WhatsApp chats from October 2023 to February 2025, shared by Dimitrie, reveal the extent of AUR’s propaganda efforts.

Robert Uleia, despite denying party membership, played a key role in coordinating communication for the internship program and AUR’s youth wing in Bucharest’s Sector 1.

In February 2024, he rallied interns for protests alongside Simion, framing them as critical to the party’s influence. By October 2024, during the presidential campaign, Uleia promoted a rap anthem, “We’re Taking Our Country Back,” glorifying Simion. Coordinators like Alin Constantinescu encouraged interns to create TikTok videos using clips from the song, urging widespread engagement to boost AUR’s online presence. Interns were also directed to like and comment on propaganda videos, with specific instructions to mobilize colleagues for maximum visibility.

The 2024 presidential election highlighted AUR’s opportunistic tactics. In the days leading up to the first round, Uleia and affiliated websites, including one linked to Simion associate Doina Grosu, falsely claimed that independent candidate Călin Georgescu had endorsed Simion. Georgescu publicly debunked this misinformation, condemning its divisive impact.

Yet, when Georgescu won the first round, AUR’s youth wing swiftly pivoted, portraying themselves as his ardent supporters.

Dimitrie and other sources revealed this shift was a calculated move, with Simion anticipating Georgescu’s disqualification by the Constitutional Court due to prior election annulments.

AUR aimed to capture Georgescu’s voter base, exploiting public anger for electoral gain. Dimitrie’s internal protest note in February 2025, exposing these manipulations, led to his expulsion from AUR groups.

When confronted, Răzvan Biro distanced AUR from Uleia, claiming he had no role in the reorganized youth wing and was not involved in party activities.

Biro promised a written response to further inquiries but failed to provide one by publication. The evidence, however, paints a clear picture of AUR’s exploitation of the “Know Your Parliament” program.

Far from an educational opportunity, it served as a recruitment and propaganda machine, leveraging young interns’ enthusiasm to advance the party’s far-right agenda while subjecting them to ideological coercion and unpaid labor.

Dimitrie’s account underscores the troubling mechanisms by which AUR seeks to expand its influence, raising questions about the integrity of political engagement in Romania’s democratic institutions.

The original article in Romanian can be found here.

Caption: George Simion, presidential candidate and leader of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), delivers his speech before the first exit poll results of the presidential runoff are announced at the Parliament Palace in Bucharest, Romania, 18 May 2025. EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT