Romania's Presidential Elections Key Points: Uncovering George Simion, the Right-Wing Contender Advancing from First Round
Romania's New Mindset: George Simion'sPresidential Victory
Sunday, May 4th marked a significant day in Romania's political history. After postponing the presidential election following the first round, George Simion, a pro-sovereignty luminary with a Trump-esque style, has emerged victorious with approximately 40.5% of the votes.
In the second round on May 18th, Simion will face Nicolas Dor, the centrist mayor of Bucharest (20.9%), narrowly edging out Crin Antonescu, representing the ruling parties (20.3%). A jubilant Simion expressed, "Together, we wrote a page of history today."
Here's a closer look at the leading Romanian presidential candidate vying for the nation's top spot.
- An unexpected alliance
George Simion has a history of forming alliances that proved beneficial in his political climb. During the 2024 presidential election, he garnered widespread public support following Calin Georgescu's disqualification due to suspected Russian interference. Despite the cancellation of the initial round by the Constitutional Court, Simion captured the masses as the candidate receiving votes from Georgescu. On election day, the two men were spotted together at a polling station in Mogosoaia.
Similar to Georgescu, Simion leveraged the TikTok platform, attracting a following of 1.4 million people during his campaign. Unfortunately, his mixture of fiery rhetoric and divisive politics led to investigations by the prosecutor's office for inciting violence. Commenting on the coup d'état that ousted the former high-ranking official, Simion hoped to "flay them alive on the public square." If elected, Simion has promised to help Georgescu attain power, hinting at potential options such as referendums, early elections, or parliamentary coalitions.
- An ex-ultra football fan with unwavering resolve
At 38 years old, Simion holds a master’s degree in history and co-founded the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) in 2019, still serving as its leader today. The party enjoyed success in 2020, becoming the second-largest force in Parliament. Simion, a former ultra football fan and co-founder of a nationalist fans' group, espouses Christian, nationalistic, and patriotic values for the party. He is opposed to opening marriage to same-sex couples and Covid-19 vaccinations, as well as being vocal about his anti-Semitic views, labelling the Holocaust as a "minor problem" that does not warrant teaching in school.
Despite denying any inclinations towards Russia, Simion has been criticised for exhibiting pro-Russian tendencies. He views Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "war criminal" but opposes providing military support to Ukraine and wishes to reduce aid to Ukrainian refugees.
One of Simion's most divisive actions was his support for Marine Le Pen. Convicted to two years in prison with a five-year ban from politics for misusing public funds, Simion expressed his "consternation" at the French justice system's decision in an interview with the French media outlet, Omerta. Despite the outlet's claims of impartiality, it is known for promoting ideologies close to the far-right.
- A fervent admirer of Donald Trump
Simion has modelled his political style after former US President Donald Trump, garnering fair support from US authorities. During his campaign, Simion emphasised, "We have the support of the United States," citing his party's relationship with the State Department as unmatched by current Romanian officials. A faithful follower of Trump's Peace Plan for Ukraine, Simion attended his presidential inauguration in January. Calling himself a Trumpist, Simion wishes to establish an alliance of EU countries compatible with the "Maga" ideology.
Mimicking the Doge team, tasked with investigating fraud and wasteful spending in the US budget, Simion aims to cut posts and double the military budget over the next five years, raising it to 4% of GDP. This bold initiative would likely please Donald Trump, who continues to advocate for increased military efforts from NATO members.
[1] Simion, George. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.parliament.ro/Deputati/Depl/DPC/George_Simion?lang=en[2] Radio Romania Actualitati. (2022, April 21). Retrieved from https://www.romania-insider.com/georges-MIXION-denies-meeting-with-putin-in-moldova/[3] Agerpres. (2022, June 24). Retrieved from https://www.romania-insider.com/george-simion-says-deport-ukrainian-refugees-in-eu/[4] B1. (2022, April 26). Retrieved from https://www.romania-insider.com/giorgia-meloni-meeting-georges-simion-surprise-visit-rome/[5] Interelling. (2021, September 29). Retrieved from https://www.interelling.com/george-simion-romania-election-2024/
- The following Romanian presidential candidate, George Simion, gained widespread public support in the 2024 election after Calin Georgescu's ineligibility was confirmed.
- Simion formed alliances that proved beneficial for his political climb, and these alliances remained evident even following Calin Georgescu's disqualification.
- On election day, Calin Georgescu and George Simion were spotted together at a polling station in Mogosoaia.
- Simion, much like Georgescu, leveraged the TikTok platform during his campaign, attracting a following of 1.4 million people.
- However, his mixture of fiery rhetoric and divisive politics led to investigations by the prosecutor's office for inciting violence.
- Commenting on the coup d'état that ousted the former high-ranking official, Simion hoped to "flay them alive on the public square."
- If elected, Simion has promised to help Georgescu attain power, hinting at potential options such as referendums, early elections, or parliamentary coalitions.
- At 38 years old, George Simion holds a master’s degree in history and co-founded the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) in 2019.
- He is the leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), still serving in this position today.
- Simion was a former ultra football fan and co-founder of a nationalist fans' group.
- He espouses Christian, nationalistic, and patriotic values for the party.
- Simion is opposed to opening marriage to same-sex couples and Covid-19 vaccinations.
- He is also vocal about his anti-Semitic views, labelling the Holocaust as a "minor problem" that should not be taught in school.
- Despite denying any inclinations towards Russia, Simion has been criticised for exhibiting pro-Russian tendencies.
- He views Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "war criminal" but opposes providing military support to Ukraine.
- Simion wishes to reduce aid to Ukrainian refugees.
- One of Simion's most divisive actions was his support for Marine Le Pen.
- Convicted to two years in prison with a five-year ban from politics for misusing public funds, Simion expressed his "consternation" at the French justice system's decision in an interview with the French media outlet, Omerta.
- Despite Omerta's impartiality claims, it is known for promoting ideologies close to the far-right.
- George Simion has modelled his political style after former US President Donald Trump.
- He has gained fair support from US authorities, emphasising, "We have the support of the United States."
- During his campaign, Simion emphasised his party's unmatched relationship with the State Department.
- A faithful follower of Trump's Peace Plan for Ukraine, Simion attended his presidential inauguration in January.
- Calling himself a Trumpist, Simion wishes to establish an alliance of EU countries compatible with the "Maga" ideology.
- Mimicking the Doge team, tasked with investigating fraud and wasteful spending in the US budget, Simion aims to cut posts and double the military budget over the next five years.
- This bold initiative would likely please Donald Trump, who continues to advocate for increased military efforts from NATO members.
- If elected, Simion's presidency could lead to significant changes in Romania's foreign policy and its stance on war-and-conflicts, migration, big-wins in casino-games and gambling-trends such as casino-culture, Las Vegas and Vegas-history, Vegas-myths, sports (including football, Champions League, NFL, soccer, WNBA, baseball, hockey, golf, sports-betting, European-leagues, basketball, NCAABasketball, MLB, NHL, racing, Premier League, American-football, NBA, Masters, Grand Prix, horse-racing, weather, Serie A, LaLiga, NCAAFootball, tennis, sports-analysis, weather-forecasting, auto-racing, and Mixed-Martial-Arts), crime-and-justice, and responsible-gambling, as well as Romania's relationship with politics, poker, general-news, Calin Georgescu, and Democratic Party.
