Daniel Şandru (IICCMER): "Romania is a simulated democracy. To take narratives from extremists, hoping to gain electoral advantage, is political suicide."

In an interview granted to News.ro, Daniel Șandru, the director of the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile (IICCMER), discusses the four types of populism that affect Romania: political, media, intellectual, and religious.

These forms of populism have a significant impact on society, leading to the paradox of an imminent threat in the 2028 elections, even though Romania is in a period of prosperity. Șandru criticizes the main governing parties, PSD and PNL, for erroneous strategies that steer them towards conservatism instead of addressing the grievances of the pro-European electorate. He also emphasizes the danger of dismantling IICCMER in a context where the fight against communist nostalgia should be intensified.