Traian Băsescu says that AUR "has reached the end of its growth potential" and will have to explain "the money it gave to television stations"

Former President Traian Băsescu said Sunday evening on Digi24 that AUR may have reached its growth limit and could lose electoral support. The statements came amid opinion polls placing George Simion’s party first among voters’ preferences in the event of parliamentary elections.

Băsescu argued that the polls should not be viewed as definitive results and said AUR would have to provide explanations regarding its financing and the money allocated to television stations. He added that disappointment with the political class had contributed to the party’s emergence.

Asked which party could grow in the future, the former president said a new political force would be needed and that he would no longer vote for the existing parties, including PSD, PNL or AUR. He also criticized the portrayal of some party members as representatives of a new political generation.

The statements came after an Avangarde poll conducted between September 12 and 22. According to the cited data, AUR is preferred by 36% of respondents with a voting preference, PSD by 23%, PNL by 16%, and USR by 8%. Public discussion about political financing is also taking place against the backdrop of the Bucharest Court of Appeal’s decision regarding the pretrial detention of Călin Georgescu and Ionel Rusen.