DistantNews
Support us
🇷🇴 Romania /Elections & Politics

Fifor on Fritz: “Citizenship alone does not make you Romanian”

From Adevărul · () Romanian

Translated from Romanian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Opinion Named sources Context piece
  • The Association for the Prevention and Combating of Anti-Semitism and Legionarism condemned statements by Romanian lawmaker Mihai-Viorel Fifor targeting Timișoara Mayor Dominic Fritz.
  • APCAL said the claim that citizenship alone does not make someone Romanian echoes exclusionary language associated with Romania’s interwar far-right movements.
  • The association argued that Fritz’s German origin does not justify questioning his loyalty or belonging to Romania.

The phrase “citizenship alone does not make you Romanian” has drawn a sharp condemnation from APCAL, which says Romanian lawmaker Mihai-Viorel Fifor revived a racist, xenophobic and ultranationalist discourse with a dark history in the country.

In a post published on September 3, 2026, Fifor, a sitting member of Parliament and former defense minister, attacked Dominic Fritz, the mayor of Timișoara. APCAL said the language used against Fritz was deeply incompatible with democratic standards, especially coming from a serving lawmaker and former government member.

Citizenship alone does not make you Romanian.

· Mihai-Viorel FiforThe phrase, cited by APCAL, formed part of Fifor's attack on Timișoara Mayor Dominic Fritz.

The association highlighted claims that Fritz could not “feel Romanian,” love the country “with every fiber of his being,” or “fight for it to the ultimate sacrifice.” It also pointed to accusations of treason and assertions that Fritz lacked the necessary “fiber” to be Romanian and held values foreign to those of “this nation.”

feel Romanian

· Mihai-Viorel FiforAPCAL cited this phrase as part of Fifor's argument questioning Fritz's Romanian identity.

APCAL said these formulations reproduce the stereotype of the disloyal outsider: a citizen only on paper, supposedly incapable of genuine assimilation, unable to love the country like a “true Romanian,” and therefore vulnerable to accusations of treason. Fritz is of German origin and holds Romanian citizenship.

The association linked the vocabulary and ideological structure of Fifor’s post to extremist, antisemitic, racist and xenophobic publications from the interwar period, including outlets associated with the Legionary Movement and other far-right organizations. It said those publications particularly demonized Jews and other minorities viewed as foreign to the national body, while the same exclusionary pattern is now being directed at Fritz.

fight for it to the ultimate sacrifice

· Mihai-Viorel FiforAPCAL cited the phrase while describing the rhetoric used to question Fritz's loyalty to Romania.
About this summary

Originally published by Adevărul in Romanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog