The Romanian Presidential Election of May 2025: A Centrist Victory and a Rejection of Trumpism
The results of voting in the second round of Romanian’s Presidential election have surprised many onlookers. With a turnout of nearly 65%-the highest in 25 years- Nicușor Dan, two-term mayor of Bucharest since 2020, secured 53.6% of the vote, to 46.4% for his opponent George Simion. An over-confident Simion had initially declared himself winner. After initially hinting that he might challenge the emerging results, along the lines of Donald Trump in January 2021, Simion eventually conceded defeat on Facebook.
The first round of the Presidential election on 24 November 2024 was won by Călin Georgescu, an independent with an anti-EU and pro-Russian outlook, with 22.95% of the vote. Elena-Valeria Lasconi, leader of the USR (Uniunea Salvați România; Save Romania Union), came in second with 19.17%. The election was annulled on 6 December, in response to a campaign on TikTok on behalf of Georgescu, which was alleged by Romanian intelligence to have been coordinated by a “state actor.” It is noteworthy that this annulment was condemned by both Elon Musk and US Vice-President J.D. Vance, while the ‘TikTok Messiah’ himself described it as a “formalised coup d’etat.” Georgescu was thereafter banned by the Central Electoral Bureau from standing again for President in May 2025. He was charged on 26 February with six offences, including acts against Romania’s constitutional order, failure to disclose campaign financing, spreading false information, and publicly promoting “fascist, racist, or xenophobic ideas.” On 11 March 2025, an appeal against the ban on Georgescu was unanimously turned down by Romania’s Constitutional Court. On 9 April, the USR voted to support Dan’s candidacy and withdrew support for Lasconi.
On 4 May, George Simion, founder and leader of the far-right AUR (Alliance for the Unity of Romanians; Alianța pentru Unirea Românilor), won the first-round run-off with 40.96% of the vote, to 20.99% for Dan. It was thus expected that Simion would easily win the second round on 18 May. Confident of victory in Romania, he spent the week prior to the second-round election travelling to European capitals (Brussels, London, Paris, and Rome) to canvas the support of the Romanian diaspora, consort with allies on the far-right, and to recast himself as a Euro-realist, alongside Italy’s Giorgia Meloni.
Simion is described as a former ultra, known for his disruptive activities at football matches. He was a prominent anti-vaxxer during the COVID pandemic. An ardent admirer of Donald Trump, he referred to himself as a “European MAGA candidate”, distinguished by his red baseball cap and committed to cutting taxes, trimming bureaucracy, and limiting the role of government in citizens’ lives. His anti-EU sentiments diminished somewhat as the elections approached, and he committed to retaining NATO bases in Romania. Simion denied pro-Russian sympathies, while simultaneously opposing military aid to Ukraine. His ultranationalism extends to a desire to return to Romania’s pre-1940 borders, which would include incorporation of Moldova and parts of Ukraine (Budjak, Northern Bukovina, Northern Maramures), within ‘Greater Romania’ (România Mare). His socially conservative AUR party lists on its website its ‘four pillars’ of faith (Christianity), liberty, family, and nation. It opposes gender ideology, abortion, and homosexual marriage, in keeping with similar parties on the far-right of the political spectrum. Putting everything together, the conclusive defeat of Simion marks yet another rejection of Trumpism within Europe.
Nicușor Dan, a soft-spoken and modest-living individual, trained in mathematics at the École Normale Superieure and the Sorbonne in Paris. He is described as a pro-EU centrist, who supports Romania’s continued NATO membership. Standing as an independent, he was backed by the USR, a party he founded under another name, and by other centrist parties. As an anti-corruption campaigner, he made his mark fighting corrupt practices in public procurement and the misuse of public funds in the capital city. He opposed illegal high-rise property development, protected green spaces, preserved historic buildings, and promoted urban renewal during what can be considered a successful mayoralty. Dan will now appoint a prime minister to lead a coalition, which will hopefully include the USR, PSD (Partidul Social Democrat; Social Democratic Party), PNL (Partidul Național Liberal; National Liberal Party), and UDMR (Uniunea Democrată Maghiară din România; Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania).
Dan’s victory has been welcomed by Romania’s immediate neighbours in Moldova and Ukraine, both of which have barred Simion from entry, as well as across the wider EU. While Romania’s economy continues to grow, some challenges lie ahead for the new leadership. Widespread corruption, tax evasion, a budget deficit, a politicised judiciary, a growing divide between elites and masses, regional disparities, and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and the Romani minority are among the issues facing the new government. For the present, Romania seems to have chosen a level-headed and pragmatic leader to a five-year term, as part of a growing European backlash against President Trump. What happens hereafter is anybody’s guess.
Ashis Banerjee