BUCHAREST – George Simion is hoping to do what pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu was barred from doing: claim the presidency and add Romania to the list of EU countries led by far-right figures.
On Sunday, Romanians will vote in the first round of the country’s rescheduled presidential election. The country has been in disarray since the Supreme Court annulled the first attempt at holding the election late last year. Putinist far-right firebrand Călin Georgescu surprisingly came out on top of the first round, but was later found to have received a helping hand from Moscow.
Entering stage right is George Simion, leader of Alliance for the Union of Romanians-party (AUR), who only placed fourth in the annulled presidential elections held on November 24.
Now, polls show him as the favourite to reach the run-off on 18 May – and potentially win it.
The Romanian president holds considerable sway over the country’s foreign policy, representing the country at the European Council. With Simion on course for the presidency, fears have been sparked in Brussels that the bloc could soon face yet another enfant terrible – akin to Hungary’s Viktor Orban or Slovakia’s Robert Fico.
However, the situation may prove slightly different. Romanian EU policy often relies on backing from the country’s current centre-left government. With Simion at the helm, Romania risks speaking with two tongues in Brussels.
Team TikTok takes the vote
Much like Georgescu, Simion is making his case to voters online, largely steering clear of mainstream media, opting instead for appearances on friendly podcasts. On TikTok, he commands an impressive 1.3 million followers – far surpassing the second-largest Romanian politician on the platform, leftist Victor Ponta, who has 240,000 followers.
With Georgescu out of the running, Simion quickly emerged as the natural heir to his political cause, while still distancing himself from some of Georgescu’s more extreme views.
Simion, 38, first rose to prominence as a vocal advocate for unification between Romania and Moldova, a tiny former Soviet republic with a large Romanian-speaking population – a cause he has since abandoned.
At the European level, Simion has teamed up with the likes of Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia and Poland’s Law and Justice party, through the European Conservatives and Reformists group. Still, Simion and AUR differs widely from their European counterparts on key issues like support for Ukraine and their approach to the EU.
Simion opposes aid to Ukraine, citing what he claims is the ill-treatment of the Romanian minority in the country. He is banned from entering both Moldova and Ukraine due to suspected pro-Russian sympathies – allegations he has consistently denied.
Simion says he does not want Romania to leave NATO but seeks to “strengthen the alliance under American leadership.” He envisions a reformed Europe, free from what he calls “unelected bureaucrats,” and likens the current EU to a “new Soviet Union.”
While Simion brands himself a conservative, his party harbours more extremist views. Local investigative outlet PressOne uncovered efforts by AUR members to recruit neo-Nazis in Romania and Moldova.
If Simion does indeed win the first round, it is expected he will face a tight contest in the runoff. Polls indicate a close race for second place ahead of Sunday’s vote between government coalition candidate Crin Antonescu (formerly aligned with EPP), Bucharest’s independent mayor Nicușor Dan, and former prime minister and PSD leader Victor Ponta, who is also running as an independent.
(mln, aw)