'We had jobs': Rural Romania turns to faith and nationalism ahead of presidential election rerun

SASCHIZ, Romania (AP) — In a picturesque village in central Romania, 83-year-old Zoica Roth bemoans the lack of opportunities for young people and says she's not convinced that an upcoming presidential election can help stem the desertion of the countryside.

“I have two girls and two boys. I only see them once in the summer and once at Christmas because they’re all abroad,” she told The Associated Press in the courtyard of her farmstead in Saschiz, in Mures county. “The only solution is to leave ... I miss them.”

Anger toward Romania's political establishment in recent years has fueled a surge in support for far-right figures in the European Union and NATO member country, reflecting a broader pattern seen across Europe.

In last year's election, the far-right front-runner Calin Georgescu, who is now under investigation and barred from the rerun, won strong support among rural communities as well as 43% of the vote in Romania's large diaspora, with his calls to patriotism and emphasis on faith resonating.

Georgescu’s policy proposals included supporting local farmers, reducing import dependence, and ramping up domestic energy and food production. “He was a good one,” Roth said, adding that a top court’s decision to cancel the election on Dec. 6 was “pretty messed up.”

She also feels let down by the choice of the 11 candidates in Sunday's election rerun. “There’s nothing to choose from, they’re all the same," she added.

Exodus from the countryside

A communist country until 1989, development across rural Romania has lagged behind that of cities. In a country of about 19 million people, some 45% of Romanians live in the countryside, which often lacks jobs and basic infrastructure.

After joining the EU in 2007, millions of Romanians — including Roth's family — moved abroad in search of better opportunities, tearing apart countless families. Like many older generation Romanians, Roth now fondly remembers life during communism.

“It was good back then, we had places to work, we had jobs,” Roth said. “Now I have my pension, but the young ones coming up have no jobs, nowhere to work. They leave with their bags on their backs … to foreign countries.”

Lack of opportunity fuels discontent

Monica Rosalea, 41, works the land at home in Saschiz to make ends meet and periodically works in Germany.

“It’s hard because there’s no work … we all go abroad,” she said. “We have children, how are we supposed to raise them? We’re forced to leave them at home. The little money you bring from abroad, you spend it all here … everything is so expensive.”

Rosalea voted for Georgescu last year. “I didn’t choose him alone … everyone voted for him. But then look what happened,” she said. “I honestly don’t know who I’d vote for now. There are no real options.”

In 2023, employment in Romania's rural areas was the lowest in the EU, with just 61% of working-age people in work, according to the EU’s statistics agency Eurostat. Over the past decade, youth unemployment has fallen across most of the EU, but it has also risen in Romania’s rural areas.

For 23-year-old Alexandra Todea, who works as a logistics administrator at a local preserves factory in Saschiz, Georgescu’s messages resonated because he saw the “potential of rural areas,” which offered people hope that things could improve.

“If the Romanian state supported us young people more … then there would be no need to leave and go to another country to make something of ourselves," she said. "We do have potential, it’s just that no one invests.”

Like many Romanians for whom Georgescu’s messages struck a chord, Todea questions the legitimacy of canceling the election and feels robbed of her previous vote. “Unfortunately, that right was taken from me,” she added.

Her colleague, Aliz Alamorean, 23, bucked the trend by moving back to Romania this year after living in Spain since she was five. “I didn’t feel like a stranger, but I didn’t feel at home either,” she said, adding she would vote for Georgescu if he were allowed to run again.

"The same people always have to win, and when they saw the 'wrong' one was winning — they canceled it," she said, listing the economy as her main concern. "If I see it's not working out, I'll pack my bags and go back," she added.

Support for nationalism grows

Life in rural Romania is often shaped by traditions, faith, and community ties, but the challenges are stark. A lack of opportunities, underdeveloped schools, and poor access to healthcare can deepen a sense of abandonment by the political class.

A week after the Nov. 24 presidential first round, Alamorean voted for the hard-right nationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, in a parliamentary election. AUR proclaims to stand for “family, nation, faith, and freedom," and doubled its support.

The party's leader, George Simion, came fourth in last year’s race and later backed Georgescu, and is widely viewed as his successor in the upcoming ballot. A median of polls suggests he will enter a runoff on May 18.

Across the countryside, many Romanians still work the land, tending to their crops and animals. But in rural communities, where 90% of households rely on firewood to heat their homes, not everyone will exercise their right to vote.

“I only have three years of school,” said shepherd Attila Agostun, 46, who has never voted, as he watched over his flock grazing the verdant pastures near the village of Cund. “All my life has been with animals … that’s where I grew up.”

The risk of poverty or social exclusion in Romania’s rural communities is 45%, 26 percentage points higher than in cities, according to Eurostat.

Faith offers hope to rural communities

Faith plays a central role in rural communities, where the Orthodox Church has a strong presence, offering hope.

In the remote village of Floresti on a bright spring day, birdsong fills the courtyard of Liliana Cosurean, 54, as she lays out a spread of local cheese and homemade jam. She says she is happy living among forests and rolling hills, which she calls “a little corner of paradise,” where slow tourism has brought some positive change.

But she acknowledges that the recent political turmoil has divided people. “There seems to be a certain tension in the air, and I hope it settles down for the sake of the young people,” she said. “I sincerely hope things will remain peaceful and won’t fall apart.”

She did not want to say who she voted for in the previous race, and isn’t sure if she’ll vote on Sunday. She described Georgescu as “a man with a kind heart and a fear of God,” and believes he inspired trust because he spoke openly about faith.

“That might be the thing that could unite us,” she said. “Faith can move mountains … a person who has faith can do anything.”