The Guardian writes that the victory of the extreme right in the first round of the presidential elections in Romania raises the prospect of disrupting the EU. Trump’s admirer, George Simion, opposes military aid for Ukraine and appeals to Europe’s “melonization”, notes the publication.
George Simion, favorite to the position of photo president: Facebook
The Guardian writes that an extreme-right admirer of Trump, who opposes the military aid for Ukraine, has decisively won the first tour of the resumption of presidential elections in Romania, shows the almost final results, raising the perspective of entering another disturbing nationalist in the EU leaders’ club.
“With 99.99% of the votes counted on Monday, George Simion, 38 years old, carrying a sheep Maga, promotes a sovereign, social conservative and appealed to” Melonization ” – referring to the far -right Italian prime minister – Europe, obtained 40.96%. It was almost double compared to the candidate ranked second, Nicușor Dan, the centrist mayor of Bucharest, and greater than the pre -election polls. The two will face in a second round of poll that will take place on May 18“Writes The Guardian.
The far-right candidate, whose alliance for the union of Romanians (gold) turned from an anti-vaccine movement in the second largest party in the country, ranked first in 36 of the 47 electoral constituencies and obtained 61% of the votes from abroad.
Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician who founded the Union Save Romania (USR) party and campaigned as an independent pro-EU and anti-corruption, called the second round “to convince Romanians that Romania needs its pro-Western direction ”.
Experts said Dan could have difficulty defeating Simion in the second round due to tensions between independent candidate and the two major center-left and center-right parties, which could discourage their voters to change their loyalty.
“Simion has a voting pool greater than Dan at this time,” said Cristian Pîrvulescu, political scientist. The votes of the fourth ranked, Victor Ponta, a former prime minister, could be critical, which could turn it into a Kingmaker.
The President of Romania has a semi-executive role, with considerable powers on foreign policy, national security, defense expenses and legal appointments. The president also represents the country on the international stage and can exercise the right of veto to important votes within the EU.
The newspaper also writes that a victory of Simion could make Romania – who has a common border with Ukraine and is a member of both the EU and NATO – to deviate from the main path and become another disturbing force within the EU, along with Hungary and Slovakia.
It would also be welcomed by conservative nationalists in Europe and not only – including important figures of the Trump administration, such as US Vice President JD Vance – who accused Bucharest of denial of democracy after the annulment of the initial poll.
The vote in November last year was won by Călin Georgescu, an independent of the far right, favorable to Moscow, but was canceled by the supreme court in Romania after declassified documents of the intelligence services revealed an alleged operation of Russian influence.
Simion relies on Georgescu
Georgescu, who denies any crime, was subsequently under investigation for accusations such as the erroneous reporting of the campaign, the abusive use of digital technology and the promotion of fascist groups. In March, he was forbidden to run for election resumption.
Simion promised on Sunday that he will make Georgescu prime minister, either through a referendum, or through anticipated elections or the formation of a new government coalition, if he wins. The extreme-right groups have 35% of the parliamentary places after the December elections.
Simion denies that his policies are extremely right, but described his party as “natural ally ” of Trump’s and promised an alliance of EU countries “in the spirit of Maga“He frequently criticized Russia, but constantly opposed military aid for Ukraine.
So far, Romania has donated to Kiev a Patriot air defense battery, leads to Ukrainian fighting pilots and has allowed 30 million tonnes of Ukrainian cereals through the Constanta port of the Black Sea from the Russia invasion.
