Ana-Maria Konova, Nova, May 5, 2025
We are now facing an election full of precedents. Including the Constitutional Court’s annulment of the electoral procedure. If you remember, TikTok sensation Călin Georgescu was taken out of the race.
On Sunday, our northern neighbors went to the polls again to elect their president. The election will now be decided in a runoff between nationalist George Simion and independent candidate Nicușor Dan.
Vladimir Mitev, journalist and author of the Bulgarian-Romanian blog The Bridge of Friendship, joins us now live from Bucharest to give us more information about what our neighbors in Romania are choosing. Hello!
Hello!
We have two radically different candidates on the ballot, with a significant percentage difference between them. What signal did Romanians send with Sunday’s vote?
I think one of the signals is that what has been the formula for governing in recent years, which can be called to some extent a stabilocracy, i.e., a fusion of the two major parties with the state and the isolation of those who remain outside the networks of these parties, is somehow disappearing, because the candidate of the ruling majority did not make it to the second round. Two candidates who, in their own way, embody a certain disagreement, dissatisfaction, and frustration with the status quo have made it to the second round.
One of the candidates in question, Nicușor Dan, the mayor of Bucharest, enjoys the support of the NGO sector, of people who may have a certain profile or are generally educated and middle class. Importantly, he has support mainly in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca. And in most of the country, where, of course, people do not have access to quality education or the corridors of power that the inhabitants of large cities have, the winner is George Simion. Simion, in his own way, also embodies a kind of dissatisfaction with the so-called system, which is very much associated with the two major parties of the transition, but also, and especially, with the Social Democratic Party.
As I understand, in a way, both candidates are anti-establishment players and offer a kind of alternative for Romanians at this moment. However, why are analysts so skeptical about George Simion? What does he actually offer Romanians and how feasible is it? Is Georgescu’s political rehabilitation possible?
Yes, you yourself mentioned that in order to gain this significant support, which surprised many by exceeding 40%, he played the Georgescu card. The two appeared together at Sunday’s vote. This is how Simion demonstrated that he is Georgescu’s successor.
I must open a parenthesis here to explain why Romanians vote this way. Romania has different regions and different communities. Some have benefited from the transition to a greater extent than others. The winners are more likely to work with corporations, live in large cities, or be associated with the NGO sector. But there are large areas that are almost economically deserted. They do not contribute as much to the country’s gross domestic product. In these regions, relationships are largely preserved as they were in the past, for example in the 1980s and 1990s. The inhabitants of these regions, in the context of Romania’s recent economic difficulties, with budget deficits and growing debts, are those who feel somewhat insecure and have probably decided to bet on Simeon.
But you mentioned that there are problems, at least from the point of view of the urban and pro-European elites. The restoration of the ideology known in Romania as legionarism or the extreme right is worrying.
In this regard, it should be noted that 54-55% of the votes went to George Simion and Victor Ponta, who is a sovereignist with influence in the Social Democratic Party. But by no means are 55% of Romanians far right. They vote this way because they have their frustrations, which date back to the coronavirus crisis, if not earlier.
Romanians express their dissatisfaction either by supporting Nicușor Dan, if they feel more stable and secure in their social status, or by supporting George Simion, if they feel insecure in one way or another.
However, where can we position him? Politico has labeled him a Trump fan. He is someone who talks about melonization in Europe and says that soon there will be simionization. How should we interpret these messages?
We will find out soon, especially if George Simion comes to power. I just note that he has taken some steps that are probably meant to make him more acceptable at the European level. To a certain extent, he has seemed more systematic in this regard. And that is why he needed the support of Călin Georgescu that I was talking about.
Simion’s party has joined the European political family of Georgia Meloni and the Polish sovereignists. If we look at the Polish sovereignist press, there are publications that say that George Simion is one of the most pro-Polish politicians in Europe, in the sovereignist sense of the word, of course. He has a past, as they say. It is well known that he had a career as a football hooligan. It is well known that unionism (the tendency to unify Romania and the Republic of Moldova) propelled him and made him visible in society.
He is banned from entering the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. From my point of view, in recent weeks or months, in the last period in general, he is trying to appear, perhaps, more acceptable. It is no coincidence that he expelled Claudiu Târziu, the second person in his party who had territorial claims on Ukraine. And I think this is also a move to show that Simion is trying to be more acceptable.
Last time, there were suspicions on the part of the authorities of attempted foreign interference and manipulation in the electoral process. This time, has there been talk about this, or is it believed that the elections were peaceful and fair?
The elections were more strictly regulated by the Central Electoral Bureau, which had a stricter, more proactive policy, including with regard to political advertising. Both George Simion’s and Nicușor Dan’s campaigns committed some violations. For example, it was found that Nicușor Dan used a car from the city hall to go to a campaign event, which he is generally not allowed to do. It was also found that he did not account for some donations.
On the other hand, according to an investigation by the Context website, George Simion declared zero lei in expenses for his online campaign, despite the fact that one was actually carried out, and he had contracts with media outlets that were made for political advertising. These violations were identified, but the media did not focus on them and there were no clear consequences for committing them.
Georgescu was also rumored to have invested 0 lei in his online campaign. There is something else that is interesting. I don’t know if we should report this in the context of the elections. After it was initially announced in January 2025 that Romanians would be able to travel to the US without visas, it has now been revealed that US visas will remain in place, and this US decision was announced just before the elections. Should we look for a connection with the elections, especially since there is talk that the United States may not recognize the elections? We know how much criticism Romania has received for canceling the elections once. During the Munich Security Conference, the topic of the canceled elections in Romania was addressed from the podium by J.D. Vance, the US vice president.
Yes, indeed, from my discussions with pro-European Romanians, that is exactly what emerges—they are aware that there is a problem in Romanian-American relations. Of course, the Romanian elites are optimistic that this problem will be resolved after these elections. But I think there are already some realignments at the political level in Romania. And they are difficult and, perhaps, worrying or complicated (and absorbing people’s attention).
Literally, at this very moment, May 5, 2025, at 5 p.m., Marcel Ciolacu, who is the president of the Social Democratic Party, has resigned, along with the entire leadership of the party. He also announced that there will be a change of government. An interim government is expected to be formed, but it will not last very long. Perhaps once the winner of the second round becomes clear, we will see what the exact formula will be and, I hope, a more permanent and stable government will be formed. There are different options for the future.
This is the first effect we are seeing from the results of the first round. Most likely, the prime minister will resign because of the serious loss in these elections. Is there a danger that the crisis in Romania will deepen, in your opinion, if the entire government resigns?
I think it is clear that this government will no longer exist. The members of this government themselves say that they see that it has no support. It is enough to note that the candidate of the government majority did not make it to the second round. It is clear that another formula must be sought. The question is what kind.
One option is to try to form a large government made up of all pro-European parties. The idea, as I understand it, is that it will support Nicușor Dan in the actual elections. However, this is not viewed very positively even by Nicușor Dan’s supporters, because they believe that the support of the old parties, and especially of the Social Democratic Party, could discredit him.
I was saying that he achieved his result in the first round because he is seen as an alternative to the current government.
Unfortunately, we have to stop here because we are out of time. Obviously, there will be an interesting election in Romania on May 18, 2025, which we will follow with interest. Obviously, there are already some processes underway, so it will be interesting to see what our neighbors in Romania choose. Thank you for this conversation.
We spoke live from Bucharest with journalist Vladimir Mitev. That’s all for today. Enjoy the Nova program and see you tomorrow!
Photo: George Simion presents former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki with the book “The AUR Party – The Road to Victory” during Morawiecki’s visit to Romania in March 2025 (source: YouTube)
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