{"id":426968,"date":"2025-05-16T14:48:28","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T12:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2025\/05\/16\/elezioni-romania-ballottaggio-simion-dan\/"},"modified":"2025-05-16T16:14:36","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T14:14:36","slug":"romania-high-tension-runoff-between-george-simion-and-nicusor-dan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2025\/05\/16\/romania-high-tension-runoff-between-george-simion-and-nicusor-dan\/","title":{"rendered":"Romania: high-tension runoff between George Simion and Nicu\u0219or Dan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels – On the Super Sunday<\/i> election<\/strong> of the Old Continent, the polls will be open in Poland<\/strong>, Portugal,<\/strong> and Romania<\/strong>, with the specter of a substantial rise of the radical right<\/strong> intimidating Brussels in no small measure.<\/p>\n

In Bucharest<\/strong>, tensions are sky-high for the presidential runoff<\/strong> that will see the ultranationalist George Simion <\/strong>challenge\u00a0the centrist Nicu\u0219or Dan<\/strong>, mayor of the capital. Polls give the two candidates very close in a head-to-head<\/strong> contest\u00a0on a razor’s edge<\/strong>. Whoever wins will decide on international issues<\/strong> and\u00a0form\u00a0a new government<\/strong> to try to pull the Balkan country out of the abyss of political crisis<\/strong> into which it has plunged in recent months.<\/p>\n

The Romanian political saga<\/h3>\n

Next Sunday (May 18), the next episode in the almost science-fiction-like saga of the Romanian presidential race will air. <\/strong>Over the past six months, the politics of the Balkan state — an EU and NATO member — have been turned upside down following a\u00a0severe crisis that is far from\u00a0over. It <\/strong>began with the first round of elections to change the republic’s leadership in November last year.<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, the independent, ultranationalist, and pro-Russian candidate C\u0103lin Georgescu<\/strong>\u00a0overwhelmingly won<\/a>\u00a0that vote. However,\u00a0\u00a0the Constitutional Court annulled it<\/strong>\u00a0in early December<\/a> due to heavy Russian interference and irregularities in Georgescu’s conduct. A couple of months ago<\/a>,\u00a0Georgescu was even ousted from the election.<\/p>\n

\"C\u0103lin<\/a>
Former presidential candidate C\u0103lin Georgescu (photo: Mihai Barbu\/Afp)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

George Simion<\/strong>, the leader of the radical right-wing party AUR<\/strong>, picked up his political legacy. He\u00a0triumphed<\/a>\u00a0in the first round of the new presidential elections held on May 4, securing\u00a0almost 41 percent<\/strong> of the vote. The 38-year-old national populist won a landslide of votes\u00a0by fueling the flames of discontent burning in\u00a0Romania<\/strong>, a young democracy grappling with major economic problems whose citizens have lost faith in state institutions<\/strong>, considered the emblem of an irreparably corrupt system<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What the polls say<\/h3>\n

Simion <\/strong>was, until recently, given as the big favorite for the runoff <\/strong>on the day after tomorrow. Yet, in recent days, Nicu\u0219or Dan<\/strong>‘s lead over his opponent has been shrinking, bringing the capital’s mayor\u00a0closer to a head-to-head <\/strong>(in the first round, he stopped just below 21 percent). According to surveys, both candidates now range between 48 and 52 percent, <\/strong>with a slight advantage for the AUR leader <\/strong>but falling within the margin of error.<\/p>\n

\"George<\/a>
AUR leader, George Simion (photo: Daniel Mihailescu\/Afp)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Simion<\/strong> (who has no experience in government and has skipped almost all televised debates, campaigning mainly online) is convinced that he already has the presidency in his pocket. <\/strong>\u00a0However,\u00a0\u00a0if projections are to be believed,\u00a0 the race seems\u00a0more open than ever<\/strong> for the mayor of Bucharest, who was elected in 2020 and confirmed last year. In the end, voter turnout could be the game changer<\/i><\/strong>: according to analysts, Dan’s chances will be all the greater\u00a0the more voters go to the polls, including those in the diaspora (about a fifth of the total).<\/p>\n

The international consequences of the vote<\/h3>\n

Several observers see Sunday’s vote as a referendum on Bucharest’s international placement<\/strong>. Romania could shift overnight to decidedly more euroskeptic<\/strong> positions should the leader of the ultra-right, allied in Europe with Fratelli d’Italia — he says\u00a0Giorgia Meloni’s\u00a0<\/strong>government is “a model” for him — and the Polish PiS within the Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)<\/strong> and an admirer of the authoritarian Hungarian leader Viktor Orb\u00e1n.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A big fan of Donald Trump<\/strong>, Simion would also join the roster of European Council members (such as Orb\u00e1n and Slovak premier Robert Fico<\/strong>) who continue to obstructsupport for Kyiv<\/strong>. However, he is trying to shield himself from the accusations of closeness to the Kremlin<\/strong> that marked the fate of his “mentor” Georgescu: Russia “is the biggest risk for Romania,”<\/strong> he said just yesterday, speaking to reporters in the corridors of the European Parliament.<\/p>\n

\n

We have friends, we have allies, but the most important thing is that we have God!!<\/p>\n

Thank you very much, Lioness @GiorgiaMeloni<\/a> !
\nTogether toward victory!<\/p>\n

Material publicitar politic
\nCMF 31250007
\nCPP A1B1C1D1E1 TUR2 pic.twitter.com\/v4krCeTaio<\/a><\/p>\n

– George Simion (@georgesimion) May 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“But an even greater risk is to have a\u00a0split in the free world<\/strong>,” he added, arguing that Bucharest’s Euro-Atlantic alignment<\/strong> is not in question: “We have three pillars at the base of our security strategy: our strategic partnership with the United States, membership in NATO, and membership in the EU.” He reasoned that, if anything, it is necessary\u00a0to fight\u00a0the idea of a European federal superstate in the name of a union of sovereign nations.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The domestic challenges<\/h3>\n

Domestically, however, an important decision that will fall to the next president will be the appointment of a new prime minister<\/strong> to fill the vacant post after Premier Marcel Ciolacu<\/strong>‘s resignation. The Social Democratic leader stepped down following the election defeat<\/strong>\u00a0suffered by the candidate backed by the government coalition<\/strong> (his PSD<\/strong>, the liberals of the PNL,<\/strong> and the party representing the Hungarian minority, the UDMR<\/strong>), Crin Antonescu<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And precisely here —\u00a0\u00a0between the runoff and the executive’s future– another political issue\u00a0seems to be emerging. The PLN and the liberal conservatives of the USR<\/strong> (who, to endorse him, dumped their leader<\/a> last month) support<\/strong>\u00a0Dan<\/strong>, a 55-year-old mathematician who entered the election as an independent.<\/p>\n

\"Marcel<\/a>
Outgoing Romanian premier, Marcel Ciolacu (foto: Daniel Mihailescu\/Afp)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But\u00a0what is deafening for the pro-European forces is the silence of the Social Democrats<\/strong>, who have refused to offer their endorsement<\/i> to the mayor of Bucharest. Even the European family of Ciolacu’s party, the PES<\/strong>, went over their heads\u00a0<\/a>to urge<\/strong>\u00a0Romanian voters to support the pro-EU and pro-Ukraine candidate<\/strong>. According to media reports circulating in Romania, the PSD is reportedly considering\u00a0establishing\u00a0a parliamentary majority with the AUR<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

After all,\u00a0Simion declared that, if elected, he would seek as broad a consensus as possible<\/strong> to pull the country out of the spiral of instability. After initially advocating the possibility of appointing Georgescu as premier<\/strong>, he has recently suggested that he could pragmatically dialogue with Dan himself<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Sunday, May 18, the leader of the nationalist ultra-right and the pro-EU independent candidate will compete in the polls in what many see as a referendum on Bucharest’s placement internationally and in Europe. It promises to be a neck-and-neck to the last vote<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7876,"featured_media":426963,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":""},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25681],"tags":[28130,30313,26475,29785,29786,30503],"class_list":["post-426968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-calin-georgescu-en","tag-marcel-ciolacu-en","tag-presidential-romania-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7876"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426968"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":426987,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426968\/revisions\/426987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}