Romanian hard-right leader George Simion, the favorite in the presidential election rerun, said on Friday he was the only candidate who could prevent a possible American pullout of troops from Romania. His comment follows an overall alarm regarding the future of NATO as well as American military presence in Eastern Europe.
The nation will redo its two-round election on May 4 and 18 following the Constitutional Court’s cancellation of December’s original vote, based on claims of Russian interference to which Moscow denied. Simion, who chairs the far-right Alliance for Uniting Romanians (AUR), condemned the cancellation as a “coup against democracy” and cautioned it could endanger Romania’s ties to Washington.
Not having American soldiers in Romania anymore is risky to me, and I am the only one who can prevent that,” Simion said in a five-hour press conference. He was bragging about his ideological positioning with the US Republican Party and the MAGA movement, presenting himself as Romania’s strongest connection to conservative America.
Simion’s AUR party emerged from anti-vaccination activism during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since become Romania’s main opposition force, particularly well-liked among the diaspora and young voters disenchanted with politics as usual.
Simion, 38, has been controversial with nationalist rhetoric and calls for Romania’s historical borders claims which have resulted in travel bans from Moldova and Ukraine. He brushed off the bans as “abusive restrictions” imposed by officials with “Soviet reflexes,” promising to roll them back if he were to be elected.
A vocal critic of EU leadership, Simion has vowed to end military aid to Ukraine, to defy same-sex marriage, and to reject Holocaust study as a standalone subject. He did, however, give qualified backing to higher defense spending if it strengthens Romanian industry.
Simion replaces an earlier disqualified, pro-Russian leader in the contest.