Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Gheorghe Simion, a far-right pro-Trump opponent of aid to Ukraine, won a landslide victory in the first round of Romania's presidential election on Sunday. His first-place finish raises the possibility that Romania will join the list of anti-Ukrainian states at the European Union leaders' table, along with Hungary and Slovakia, but the matter is not yet settled.
Romania's Central Election Office said that with nearly 99% of the domestic vote and more than 80% of the diaspora ballots counted late Sunday, Simion won a landslide victory with 40.3% of the vote. Bucharest's independent, centrist mayor, Nicosur Dan, came in second with 20.9% of the vote, while Kerin Antonescu, another centrist who was the joint candidate of the three parties in the ruling coalition, came in third with 20.4% of the local vote. Dan also comfortably led Antonescu in the diaspora vote, which is being tallied separately, according to the Financial Times.
Nearly one million Romanians abroad voted, most for Dan or Simion, while a total of 11 candidates were in the race.
The vote was rerun after the Constitutional Court annulled the victory of ultranationalist politician Calin Georgescu in the first round due to allegations of Russian interference. Georgescu, a Simion ally, was subsequently barred from running in the new election. According to a report published in Brussels on Monday by Playbook magazine about the reactions, Nicola Procaccini, a member of the Brothers of Italy party, to which Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni belongs, and co-chair of the right-wing European Conservatives group in the European Parliament, was quick to congratulate Simion on his campaign, which he described as having "ignited Romania's enthusiasm." The report adds, "Who is George Simeon? He's the 38-year-old who founded the European Conservative Party in 2019 after a failed bid to win a seat in the European Parliament. Proudly wearing a bright red "Make America Great Again" hat, Simeon has described his party's approach as Trumpian, and its traditional Christian, anti-Ukrainian agenda mirrors that of the US president's populist movement.
From rags to riches: Support for the European Conservative Party has surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the party has exploited anti-scientific sentiment by opposing government policies and promoting anti-vaccine theories. Simeon has said he's wary of labels, rejecting the term "far-right" to describe his politics and refusing to be identified as either anti-Ukrainian or pro-Russian. But his persistent opposition to any aid to Kyiv has led to his being barred from entering Ukraine, and neighboring Moldova has repeatedly barred him from visiting, accusing him of endangering national security. Simeon is also no fan of the European Union, threatening to break its laws even as he argues for Romania to remain a part of the bloc. From the bloc.
Simion's victory marks a dramatic new chapter in Romanian politics. It comes after Romania's Supreme Constitutional Court annulled last year's election, in which Calin Georgescu—another pro-Moscow politician whose campaign flourished on TikTok—won the first round of voting. Simion, along with everyone from Elon Musk to US Vice President J.D. Vance, vehemently denounced the court's move, riding the wave of anger that propelled him to victory on Sunday.
A runoff is now scheduled for May 18. Simion is by no means assured of a majority, having failed to secure one in the first round. But he is now within striking distance of Cotroceni Palace, the Romanian presidential residence in Bucharest, with potentially seismic implications for European politics.