In the second round of the country's presidential election, Bucharest's independent mayor Nicosur Dan is facing the far-right candidate George Simion. If the latter wins, a challenging time awaits for European cooperation.
Romania actually held its presidential election last autumn – but the country's political landscape was turned upside down. Another far-right candidate, Calin Georgescu, received the most votes in the first round – but the election was declared invalid due to allegations of undue influence from abroad, including via TikTok.
Georgescu has not been allowed to stand in the new election, whose first round was held on May 4.
The party's new candidate Simion is a former football hooligan who made headlines last year when he was physically threatening towards a minister in parliament. On another occasion, he has threatened a former party colleague with sexual violence.
Simion has been more nuanced in his statements than Georgescu. At the same time, he has promised that if he wins the election, he will make Georgescu, who has openly praised Russia's President Vladimir Putin, the prime minister.
However, the outcome is still unclear. The latest opinion polls suggest that Sunday's election will be close, after earlier polls showed a lead for Simion.
Russia has a great strategic interest in the Romanian election. The country is located on the Black Sea coast, has NATO bases, and is an important country for the world's support to Ukraine during the Russian invasion war.
