BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) 鈥 As Romanians vote Sunday in one of the European Union member鈥檚 most important elections in decades, MAGA-style hard-right nationalist George Simion says it鈥檚 his duty to restore democracy and the will of the people after the previous vote was annulled.
Romania鈥檚 political landscape was upended last year when a top court voided the previous election after the far-right topped first-round polls. The decision followed allegations of promoting Georgescu, who is now under investigation and barred from Sunday’s redo. Moscow has denied it meddled.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 go from communism to democracy in 1989,鈥 Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the hard-right nationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, told The Associated Press. 鈥淭he Romanian people lived the lie that we are a democratic country.鈥
Eleven candidates are vying for the presidency in Sunday’s vote, which is expected to go to a May 18 runoff. The presidential role carries a five-year term and significant decision-making powers in national security and foreign policy.
A communist state until the end of the Cold War, Romania has spent decades trying to build strong democratic institutions. But last year鈥檚 failed election plunged the EU and NATO member country into unprecedented political turmoil.
鈥淭hey voted for the change, and they were not allowed to make this change,鈥 said Simion, who came fourth in last year鈥檚 race and later backed Georgescu. 鈥淚鈥檓 running again as a duty towards democracy, toward the constitutional order, to restore the rule of law, to restore the will of the Romanian people.鈥
MAGA-style populism paves way to runoff
While data from local surveys should be taken with caution, a median of polls suggests Simion will enter the runoff, likely pitting him against incumbent Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, or the governing coalition鈥檚 candidate, Crin Antonescu.
Like other EU countries, votes for nationalists and far-right figures in recent years have grown in Romania, fueled by widespread anti-establishment sentiment.
Simion said his AUR party is 鈥減erfectly aligned with the MAGA movement,鈥 capitalizing on a growing wave of populism in Europe after U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 political comeback. AUR rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election, proclaims to stand for 鈥渇amily, nation, faith, and freedom,鈥 and has since doubled its support.
Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician and former anti-corruption activist who founded the Save Romania Union party (USR) in 2016, is running on a pro-EU 鈥淗onest Romania鈥 ticket. He says Romania needs a president 鈥渨ho has the will and the ability to reform the system.鈥
Veteran centrist Antonescu, 65, has campaigned on retaining Romania鈥檚 pro-Western orientation, while Victor Ponta, a former prime minister between 2012 and 2015, has also pushed a MAGA-style 鈥淩omania First鈥 campaign and boasts of having close ties to the Trump administration.
Another hopeful, Elena Lasconi, came second in last year鈥檚 first round ballot and is running again on Sunday. She has positioned herself as a staunchly pro-Western, anti-system candidate, railing against what she describes as a corrupt political class.
鈥淚 will use every tool I have so that people鈥檚 voices are heard, in government, in Parliament, in the judiciary,鈥 she told the AP. 鈥淚nstitutions must serve the people. 鈥 We need to stay close to Brussels.鈥
However, her chances dimmed in the rerun after her USR party withdrew its support for her in favor of Dan, claiming he had a better chance of winning. Lasconi labeled colleagues who moved against her as 鈥渃oup plotters.鈥 Her critics accuse her of being unprepared for high office.
Criticism from the US and Russia
The election redo is a pivotal moment for Romania as it seeks to restore its democracy and retain its geopolitical alliances, which have become strained since the canceled election fiasco.
The decision to annul the election and the ban on Georgescu鈥檚 candidacy have been strongly criticized by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, and Russia, which publicly supported his candidacy in the rerun.
Without directly addressing Sunday’s election, the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest posted a comment on Facebook, attributed to Vance, saying: 鈥淭o believe in democracy means to recognize that every citizen has the right to an opinion. We should not be afraid of our people, even when they express opinions that disagree with our leadership.鈥
Distrust in the authorities remains widespread, especially for those who voted for Georgescu, a sizeable electorate whose votes Simion has sought to capitalize on.
However, a Simion presidency would pose unique foreign policy conundrums. He is banned from entering two neighboring countries, Moldova and Ukraine, over security concerns. 鈥淚t is in their interest to have good relations with us,鈥 he said.
His critics have long accused him of being pro-Russian, warning that his presidency would undermine both Brussels and NATO as the war rages on in Ukraine. He refuted the accusations as a 鈥渟mear campaign鈥 and said Russia has been the 鈥渕ain threat” to Romania in the last 200 years and remains so today.
鈥淭his is why we need a strong NATO and we need troops on the ground in Romania, in Poland and in the Baltic states,鈥 he said, although he was against sending further military aid to Ukraine. On the EU, Simion said, 鈥淲e want more power to the 27 states, not toward the European institutions.”
Opponents have accused Simion’s AUR party of being extremist. In 2022, Israel鈥檚 ambassador to Romania condemned AUR for opposing a mandate for studying the Holocaust in Romania, which it deemed a 鈥渕inor issue,鈥 and later softened its stance.
Critical moment
Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant, says a Simion presidency would 鈥渢urn Romania upside down because he will use and weaponize this social and economic political discontent,鈥 potentially triggering a 鈥渃risis within all the political parties.”
鈥淗e will try to introduce and reshape the public conversations on issues regarding more conservative problems or populist issues ... and at some point, he will try to grow on this skepticism against the EU and the West,鈥 he said. In the longer term, “he will probably open the door to a conversation about new alliances to the East.鈥
For Rares Ghiorghies, 36, who works in the energy sector, Simion’s appeal lies in his 鈥減atriotic-conservative vision鈥 that puts family and faith first, and his promise to rid Romania of a political class 鈥渄ominated by corruption, incompetence, and servility towards all other partners.鈥
鈥淭his change can only be achieved through a fundamental overhaul of the political class and its outdated principles,鈥 he said, adding that Simion is a patriot whose 鈥渧ision of foreign policy is definitely oriented towards the USA and not towards Russia.鈥
Lidia Cremenescu, a 34-year-old shop owner in Bucharest, says she will vote for Dan, and lists her main concerns as the war in Ukraine, a flailing economy and higher taxation, and corruption.
鈥淚 think he can make real changes in this country,鈥 she said, adding that as Bucharest mayor, Dan has tackled important projects that previous mayors neglected. 鈥淵ou can see changes. 鈥 You want someone who will take power and in case anything goes wrong.鈥
