George Simion, the hard-right nationalist who wants to make Romania great again

1 month ago 12

When 99 percent of the votes were counted Sunday, hard-right nationalist George Simion looked to have secured a more than comfortable win in the first round of Romania’s presidential election, securing 40.5 percent of the vote.

Far behind in second place was Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan with 20.89 percent, and in third place the governing coalition’s joint candidate, Crin Antonescu, with 20.34 percent.

In a prerecorded speech Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), said Romanians had “risen up” and that he had one single objective if he took the presidency: “to give back to the Romanian people what was taken from them”.

MAGA hats and ‘direct line’ with Washington

What that actually means requires a closer look at Simion as a person, and his near idolisation of US President Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. The presidential candidate has often been seen sporting the red MAGA cap and boasted about his direct line to Washington.

Simion founded the AUR party in 2019. In just six short years, the party, which started out as a fringe anti-vaccination group during the Covid pandemic has grown into Romania’s second-largest party, appealing to the working-class diaspora and young voters, and building on popular anger with mainstream politicians.

A conservative Christian, he supported a failed 2018 referendum to change Romania’s constitution to prevent same-sex couples from ever being able to marry.

Far-right candidate wins first round in Romania's presidential vote

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Many of AUR’s policy positions match those of Trump’s MAGA movement, from social conservatism – it bills itself as pro-Christian and pro-family – to stopping military aid to Ukraine.

Election authorities are currently looking into his campaign funding after he reported zero funds spent on online promotion despite evidence of paid content on social media platforms.

He is also under investigation for inciting people to violence after saying election officials should be “skinned” for banning far-right candidate Calin Georgescu, a front-runner of the initial presidential election canceled five months ago over allegations of Russian interference. Simion later issued a statement saying he did not mean it.

But if he becomes president, Simion has said that “one of the options” is to name Georgescu as prime minister.

Describing himself as “more moderate” than Georgescu, Simion has repeatedly insisted on Romania’s “sovereignty”. He has called for territories in Moldova and Ukraine to be returned to Romania, and is currently banned from entering both countries. While Kyiv has accused him of “systematic anti-Ukrainian activities”, Moldova says he endangers national security.

He has also taken aim at the EU, and has threatened to break any of the bloc’s laws he disagrees with, Politico writes, but stresses Romania should remain a member.

Not a Russia fan

But in stark contrast to Georgescu, Simion has frequently denounced Russia, while lashing out at Brussels and turning towards the United States.

“We’re certainly the only ones who have relations with the State Department” and other US government departments, he said, adding that Romania’s current leaders were “incapable of opening doors”.

Simion has said he seeks to set up an alliance of countries in the spirit of MAGA within the EU.

Like the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the Trump administration’s advisory body that purports to track fraud and wasteful spending in US public institutions, Simion wants to slash jobs in a bid to “invest in defence”.

He has vowed to almost double the military budget of Romania, a NATO member country neighbouring war-torn Ukraine, to four percent of its GDP over the next five years.

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