Romania: Former AUR Co-Leader Claudiu Târziu Launches New Conservative Party ACT

Romania’s political scene is witnessing a significant shift as Claudiu Târziu, a prominent figure in the country’s conservative movement and former co-leader of the nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), has launched a new political party: the Conservative Action Party (Partidul Acțiunea Conservatoare – ACT).

Who Is Claudiu Târziu?

Claudiu Târziu is a well-known Romanian journalist, essayist, and politician. He played a key role in founding AUR in 2019, a party that quickly rose to national prominence on a platform of nationalism, conservatism, and opposition to the political mainstream.

Târziu served as co-president of AUR and was widely regarded as the party’s ideological architect before stepping down from leadership in 2022 and leaving the party altogether in April 2025.

Târziu’s departure from AUR came after growing internal disputes with George Simion, AUR’s current leader. Târziu publicly criticised Simion’s leadership style, accusing him of running the party as a personal project and sidelining other voices within the organisation. This rift led to Târziu’s resignation and set the stage for the creation of a new political force.

The Launch of ACT: A New Conservative Alternative

On June 21, 2025, Târziu officially launched the Conservative Action Party (ACT) at the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest. The event brought together supporters, founding members, and other prominent conservative figures. Târziu presented ACT as a civic-political movement dedicated to Christian-conservative, national-sovereign, and democratic values. The party’s mission is to offer a principled alternative to the current political offerings in Romania, focusing on liberty, moral order, and national dignity.

Târziu made it clear that ACT is not just a breakaway faction from AUR, but a new national project designed to unite Romania’s conservative electorate and provide a credible option for governance.

We have only one subject of our politics: the Romanian nation. We have only one duty: to the Romanian nation. We have only one support: the Romanians of good faith. We have a creed that motivates us: in God and in the Romanian nation. We have a covenant: to our heroes, martyrs and saints, who left us a national hearth, a Romanian spirit and a capital of sacrifice that we must put into practice. We have an ideal: national rebirth, from a moral, spiritual, cultural, and socio-political point of view. And from today, we also have a tool of struggle: Conservative Action. So may God help us!

Claudiu Tarziu, co-founder of ACT, on launching ACT

Political Implications and What’s Next

The emergence of ACT is expected to reshape Romania’s right-wing political landscape. Târziu’s reputation and ideological clarity could attract voters who are dissatisfied with AUR’s recent direction under Simion. The new party aims to consolidate conservative forces and appeal to those seeking a more structured and values-driven approach to politics.

With national elections on the horizon, ACT’s formation introduces a fresh dynamic into Romanian politics. Observers will be watching closely to see if Târziu’s new party can match or exceed conservative expectations.