Romania: far right breakthrough at the polls

Is it already game over in Romania? The first round of the presidential election on 4 May has resulted in victory for George Simion (Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, far right), who received 40.96 percent of the vote. He was followed by Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan (independent) with 20.99 percent. The candidate of the governing liberal coalition, Crin Antonescu, came third (20.07 percent).

Uncertainty reigns in Romania. When the November 2024 presidential election was annulled and far-right candidate Călin Georgescu was barred from running again, the cards were completely reshuffled. Dan's second-place finish, ahead of the "official" candidate of the pro-European government camp, also came as a surprise.

Now Romanians hold their breath, as they watch the future of their country twist and turn with the drama of the election. For Nicușor Dan, winning the presidential election will be a challenge: Simion leads by a margin of nearly two million votes, unprecedented in the country. The second round is scheduled to take place on 18 May in a political climate that has become even more heated following the resignation of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and the withdrawal of his Social Democratic Party from the governing coalition.