Antiestablishment sentiment among the Romanian public has been simmering for some time, but it boiled over on May 4 in the first round of the presidential election, when extreme-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) candidate George Simion garnered 40% of the vote. His main contender, independent mayor of Bucharest Nicusor Dan, garnered only 20%, a knife’s-edge ahead the mainstream coalition candidate. The upcoming runoff battle is the perfect mirror of the November 2024 election runoff, which was canceled due to foreign interference. This recent outcome demonstrates that the Romanian electorate is more consistent and values-based than many political elites believed them to be. While malign interference was proven, it was not the leading cause of the election results. The voters’ preferences are clear.
They Meant What They Said | German Marshall Fund of the United States
