Yuri Kobzar15:10, 07.05.25

Previously, George Simeon had already made a number of statements against Ukraine.

Romanians have voted again for an anti-establishment candidate in the presidential election, confirming their will last year, which was overturned by the country’s constitutional court. If George Simeon wins the second round of the election, Romania’s domestic and foreign policies could radically change, writes Bloomberg .

Simeon, the leader of the largest far-right opposition party and an admirer of US President Donald Trump, won a larger-than-expected victory, taking almost 41% of the vote in the first round. 

Although the president in Romania is a largely ceremonial figure, he is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, represents the country at NATO and European Union summits, and nominates the prime minister after consulting with political parties.

“Siemion’s first-round victory and broader gains by the far-right in recent months raise questions about the future of Romania’s liberal, pro-European status and its reliability as a Western partner, which shares a 600-kilometer border with Ukraine and hosts thousands of NATO troops,” Bloomberg writes. 

The publication notes that the ultranationalist candidate advocates for the cessation of military aid to Kyiv, and has previously been banned from entering Ukraine and Moldova after making claims to their territory.

Simion has already promised to make his political ally, Călin Georgescu, who won the annulled November vote, prime minister after winning the election. Georgescu himself has condemned the rights of sexual minorities, questioned the use of vaccines, portrayed the Covid-19 pandemic as a hoax and supported a conspiracy theory that Europe’s Christian population is being replaced by non-Christian immigrants.

Georgescu praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and said he wanted to end military support for Ukraine, which he called a “fictional state.”

If Simion wins, it would also boost his political party, which already came in second place in December’s parliamentary elections. Far-right parties currently hold about a third of the seats in Romania’s lower house of parliament.

(C)UNIAN 2025