Donald Trump's approval in the US can be at minimal levels, but the far -right candidate leading to the Romanian Presidency believes that alignment with the former US president is still a winning recipe before Sunday's elections.
George Simion is called the Mago man in the International Prico Profimedia Press
George Simion, who proudly wears hats with the Trump logo, spoke to Politico immediately after a visit to Washington, where he gave interviews to the former Trump councilor, Steve Bannon, and the right -wing activist Jack Posobiec.
“We are the natural allies of the Republican Party and we are almost perfectly ideologically aligned with the Maga movement”, Simion said, referring to his party, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (gold).
For Trump's supporters, especially JD Vance and Elon Musk, the Romanian elections became a famous cause after they were dramatically canceled in December last year.
While the Romanian authorities stated that the cancellation was necessary due to alleged electoral interference and hybrid attacks “Aggressive” On the part of Russia, the far right accused the democracy, as Călin Georgescu's first round, a sympathetic nationalist of the Kremlin, was not to be reversed, the publication notes.
The first round of the resumption of elections will take place on May 4, and the second on May 18. If he wins the presidency, Simion (38 years old) has promised that he would give Georgescu a top role, although he was not allowed to resume his candidacy.
“We are now in a campaign to restore democracy, the will of the people, the rule of law and the constitutional order.”Simion said.
Foreign journalists also note that gold is a social conservative party with an irredentist vision of rebuilding a „The big Romanians“, Which raises the perspective of potential territorial disputes and tensions with Ukraine, Moldova and Bulgaria. Although it denies that it is pro-Russian, Simion wants to stop military aid for Ukraine.
Simion is favorite to win the first round with about 29% of the votes, according to the survey “Poll of Polls” made by Politico. If he wins on May 4, everything will depend on the capacity of the counter -secondary candidate – either the former PNL leader Crin Antonescu (22%) or the mayor of the capital Nicușor Dan (20%) – to collect sufficient votes in the second round.
Function for Georgescu
Recently, the Romanian press revealed that Simion has hired a US lobby company for $ 1.5 million, in order to obtain meetings with key political figures and media in the US. The controversy is aimed at whether gold could have used money from the state, for parties, for this promotion project.
Simion insisted that the document that detailed such an agreement is not a contract, but a letter of intent. However, the Permanent Electoral Authority announced on April 24 that it will investigate the party's financing.
Antonescu accused Simion to invest “In the own cult of personality and in conspiracy famous from abroad. Instead of fighting for Romania here, they prefer to pay someone else, to humiliate us all.”
Simion hopes to capitalize on the support accumulated by Georgescu last year, promising him an important function, possibly even the prime minister.
“I think it is normal for him to play the role he wants. Because he is the Romanian who received the most votes, he had to occupy the place in Cotroceni, and this is a way to return to normality and to repair what can be repaired, because the democracy and confidence of the Romanians in the rule of law were seriously injured.”Simion said.
Simion previously stated that those who rejected Georgescu's candidacy should “Invit”what caused the mayor of the capital to describe it as a “bully” which “He instigated violence in the public space and affected society.”
However, he would not have the full freedom to appoint a prime minister. Although the president proposes this position, he needs the support of a parliamentary majority. In the current Parliament, gold is in opposition, while PSD and PNL form the majority of government. Antonescu is their common candidate.
Wave of anti-system dissatisfaction
The far right took advantage of the long -term frustrations in Romania compared to the corruption and inefficiency of the political class – PSD and PNL – which they accuse of orchestrated the annulment of the elections. Last year's presidential elections were the first time in the post-communist history of Romania when no candidate of traditional parties reached the second round.
For Simion, cancellation is an additional proof that Romania is led by the same group that took power in 1989, after the fall of communism, and which only mimicked the transition to democracy.
“The Government organized the campaign and elections and lost the elections”Simion said about last year's vote.
But he is also accused of violating the electoral rules, recalls the publication.
Several Romanians who recently received personal letters from Simion complained to the electoral authorities of a possible violation of the GDPR norms regarding the use of personal data. A regional electoral authority subsequently sent a complaint to prosecutors. Simion replied that his party had access to the electoral register, which contains the data of the eligible voters, and said that many of those registered there are dead.
Persona non grata
Simion, who has a prohibition to enter Ukraine and Moldova because of previous campaigns to recover some territories in these countries, said that Trump is praying to find a way to bring peace to Ukraine.
War represents a dilemma for Simion. Although he is a nationalist who is aligning with Maga regarding the leaving of Ukraine to do it alone, it is much less willing than Trump to publish publicly with Russia. In fact, Simion presents himself as the candidate who can maintain the US military involvement in Romania.
“What we want, as a country affected by German and Russian imperialism in history, is that this peace formula comes with new security guarantees for the next 30-50 years, so that Russia can no longer do what it has done, violating all international treaties.”Simion said.
Although his competitors from last year's elections accused him of wanting Romania from removing Romania, Simion insisted that he wants the country to stay in the community block, but that the EU should deal exclusively with the economy, without getting involved in culture and defense.
Simion also stressed that Romania wants to stay in NATO, led by the US.
“I do not think that a defense force led by France and the United Kingdom can be an alternative to the security solution that has worked since World War II, the American Pax Formula.”He said, referring to a new security architecture for Europe and, in particular, for post-war Ukraine.
Instead, he said, NATO member countries should follow Trump's demand to increase their military expenses.
“All countries must increase these expenses; it seems fair to me to pay for your own security and invest in it.”he added.
