As Romania prepares for the second round of its re-run presidential election, Bucharest Mayor and independent candidate Nicușor Dan is mounting a bold challenge to beat his nationalist opponent George Simion, who won the election’s first round last Sunday.
In a joint interview with Euronews and Euronews Romania, Dan, who came in second after leapfrogging the ruling big tent candidate Crin Antonescu in a dramatic finish to Sunday’s vote count, maintained his strongly pro-European positions, including with Ukraine, one of his key differences from his self-proclaimed “Euro-realist” rival.
“I would like Ukraine to enter the European Union,” he said, “just as I would like the Republic of Moldova to enter the European Union.”
“In the event that I am president, I will campaign for this within the European structures.”
Emphasising his beliefs, Dan is confidently pro-European, though he is not turning his back on good relations with Donald Trump’s administration in Washington.
“I want Romania to maintain its pro-Western direction,” Dan said, “which means pro-European, for Romania to be active in the European Union. On the other hand, I want to preserve the strategic partnership Romania has with the United States, which is very important, especially in the security area.”
Asked about Trump himself, Dan emphasised pragmatism.
“Romania has a strategic partnership with the US that I want to see continued and expanded. I would like a greater presence of American companies in Romania,” he pointed out.
“And I would obviously like a retention of American troops in Romania, which is an additional security guarantee for Romania.”
The biggest question hanging over the election, though, is what has led to Simion’s meteoric rise on the right, an event that saw the first attempt at the election cancelled because of alleged irregularities in the first round.
“It is a failure of the traditional political class, one that was exploited by those who shouted louder, who had stronger, more populist messages,” Dan says of his opponent’s success.
“Romania has a big problem, which is corruption. This is the reason why the doubling of GDP in the last 10 years has not been reflected in the living conditions of ordinary people.”
“Romania has a problem with the functioning of the state apparatus that people, again, see very well. But on the other hand, Romania has the resources to correct all these things and transfer the economy to prosperity.”
