Tim Ross, Politico / Translation iPress
Unlike Giorgia Meloni in Italy and Marine Le Pen in France, who have recently softened their Eurosceptic rhetoric to gain power, Romanian pro-American nationalist George Simion, who represents the EU’s sixth most populous country, doesn’t intend to hold back, writes the European publication Politico.
“What they want to do in Brussels is to destroy Europe,” said the 39-year-old Simion in an interview during a visit to London for the CPAC GB right-wing activist conference. “All the measures taken over the last 15–20 years have ruined the European economy. We are on the wrong path,” he added.
As noted by Politico, Simion’s views, a former football hooligan fond of conflicting with the establishment, matter: his party, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), is significantly ahead in opinion polls and may soon have the chance to present its position to voters if snap elections are called.
He criticized the EU’s “green agenda,” the Union’s economic and defense policies, and stated that Romania does not want to return to times when it was dominated by larger states. “We have been occupied by dictatorships – like the current Russian and former Soviet, as well as dictatorial forces from Germany,” he stated. “We want to be part of a Europe consisting of free, sovereign nations.”
Since May, Romania has been in a political crisis and effectively lacks a full-fledged government, ever since AUR teamed up with the Social Democrats to overthrow the liberal-led ruling coalition of the country.
Heir to Orban
On the EU’s eastern flank, bordering Ukraine, Romania plays a key role in European security, providing logistical support to Ukraine in the war and hosting a large NATO base and an American missile defense system on its territory.
Simion, who called himself a “Eurorealist rather than a Eurosceptic,” has long sought power. If he came to power, Politico emphasizes, he would potentially be a much more disruptive figure for the European political mainstream than former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Last year during his presidential campaign, he deliberately emulated the style of U.S. President Donald Trump and proposed stopping aid to Ukraine, which caused concern among centrist politicians in Brussels.
In an interview, Simion stated that the constitutional way out of the situation where Romanian parties failed to agree on a new coalition is to hold an early parliamentary election—something that has never happened in the 19-million-strong country since the fall of communism in 1989.
“If the so-called pro-European elites don’t have a solution, the only solution, the constitutional solution, is early elections,” Simion noted. “We haven’t had early elections in 35 years of so-called democracy.”
The issue of democratic legitimacy in Romania triggers sharp debates. Voters have long been skeptical about the country’s leadership and complain that the same elites have held power for decades without improving the lives of ordinary citizens, sometimes even getting involved in corruption scandals.
“Democracy was canceled”
The publication recalls that in December 2024, the Constitutional Court intervened and canceled the presidential elections amid claims of a massive foreign influence operation that allegedly helped far-right ultranationalist Călin Georgescu emerge from obscurity and lead the race in the first of two rounds of voting.
Georgescu, whose status as an anti-elite folk hero only strengthened after the annulment of the voting results, remains popular in many regions of Romania. Currently, Politico reminds, a trial is ongoing in Bucharest against him on charges of attempting a coup.
“I want to see democracy in Romania,” Simion declared. “Democracy was canceled in December 2024. And, of course, we need to return to it as soon as possible. Let the people vote… Despite some tendencies I see here in the UK and elsewhere, trusting citizens is not a bad thing. Citizens are always right.”
Politico reminds that Simion ran for president in repeat elections last year and promised to make Georgescu his prime minister if he won. Although he led in the first round, in the second round, Simion narrowly lost to the centrist, Mayor of Bucharest, Nicușor Dan.
He now blames Dan, his main rival, for the political crisis engulfing Romania, citing local media reports that the president allegedly conspired with the Social Democrats to remove the liberal Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.
“He caused chaos,” Simion asserts. “He wanted to get rid of Bolojan, but their plan wasn’t too successful.”
“Confusion in the Head“
As Politico notes, Simion caused outrage during last year’s presidential election by calling Dan – a gifted mathematician who speaks softly and never reacts to opponents’ attacks – an “autist.” It seems Simion returned to this topic: “I’ve known him since 2006 when we were both civil activists. He has confusion in his head.”
Negotiations to form a new government stalled even before the Romanian Parliament went on summer recess at the beginning of this month. This means, as the publication explains, that the crisis is unlikely to be resolved before autumn.
Simion dismissed the idea of cooperating with the Social Democratic Party (PSD), though he did not entirely exclude it. Instead, he stated that PSD would not be radical enough in removing bureaucratic barriers and reforming markets to develop business.
“They have a different vision than ours, and they don’t have public support,” he noted.“They have been running the country for almost 45 years. I would say: let the people decide, and we’ll see how to get out of the hole we are in. Because if this doesn’t stop, if we don’t change the paradigm, we will find ourselves in the same situation as Greece.”
In turn, President Dan and his allies have long argued that political forces like Simion’s party should not be allowed to form a new government, as AUR and its far-right allies are anti-Western and anti-European and, coming to power, would be too friendly to Moscow.
Simion denies this. “Europe is London, Warsaw, Budapest, Bucharest, not Brussels,” he states. “We want to move towards a united Europe that creates prosperity, and NATO is the only way to ensure security and preserve the freedom of the free world.”
According to the Politico Poll of Polls, AUR has 36% support – 14 points more than Bolojan’s National Liberal Party. That is why Dan and other centrists don’t want to go to early elections and may still find a way to form a new coalition.
But Dan is under pressure. His first candidate for prime minister withdrew before the parliament vote, and the second, although reaching the vote, was rejected by deputies. Simion has already initiated a procedure to remove the president from office, and the longer the delay in resolving the crisis, the weaker Dan’s position is likely to become.
If early elections do occur, Simion will be ready to act in his usual style – a combination of pugnacious populism and self-confidence. “I founded this political party six years ago,” he said. “Everyone thinks we are helped by the West, the East, Israel, Russia, but in reality, God is behind us. And a very incompetent political elite.”
