Nicușor Dan, the centrist mayor of Bucharest, won Romania’s presidential election Sunday with about 54% of the vote, defeating nationalist George Simion in a contest viewed as a choice between maintaining Romania’s pro-Western path or shifting toward populist nationalism.
The election drew the highest voter turnout in 25 years, with Romanians coming out in force after months of political turmoil following the annulment of last year’s presidential vote.
Dan, 55, a soft-spoken mathematician, made a last-minute surge after trailing Simion for weeks in polls. He campaigned on fighting corruption and maintaining Romania’s support for Ukraine and commitment to the European Union and NATO.
“We need to build Romania together irrespective of who you voted for,” Dan told supporters after securing victory.
Simion, leader of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) and a Donald Trump supporter, had called for ending military aid to Ukraine and criticized the EU. He initially claimed victory on Facebook but later conceded defeat. He also used the wrong flag to make his initial announcement.
The election came five months after Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the original November-December 2024 vote, citing Russian interference that boosted then-frontrunner Călin Georgescu through a coordinated TikTok campaign. Moscow denied involvement.
Read: Romania Scraps Presidential Vote Over Foreign Influence Campaign
The Trump Bump
Dan’s victory represents the latest setback for right-wing populist candidates since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025. Despite expectations that Trump’s victory would boost nationalist movements globally, several recent elections have shown centrist or center-left governments prevailing.
In Poland, liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski is currently leading in the first round of the presidential election held Sunday, narrowly ahead of nationalist candidate Karol Nawrocki. The two will face off in a June 1 runoff that could determine whether Poland continues its recent pivot back toward the EU mainstream or returns to the populist path championed during the Trump administration.
Portugal’s center-right ruling party maintained power in recent elections, despite gains by the far-right Chega party, showing another resistance to the populist wave many expected to sweep Europe following Trump’s return.
Outside the EU, Anthony Albanese’s Labor Party won a landslide re-election in Australia on May 3, 2025, defeating Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National Coalition. This marked the first time in two decades that an Australian prime minister won consecutive elections, with Albanese’s victory attributed partly to voter concerns about Trump’s global tariffs and policy unpredictability.
In Canada, Liberal Party leader Mark Carney secured a minority government victory on April 28, 2025, despite trailing the Conservatives by 20 percentage points in polls just months earlier. Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau as prime minister in March, campaigned largely on his ability to handle Trump’s hostile foreign policy and threats of tariffs against Canada.
Read: Conservative Leader Poilievre Defeated in Own Riding as Liberals Take Power
Political analysts suggest these results indicate that rather than embracing similar nationalist movements, voters in many democracies are responding to Trump’s presidency by supporting candidates promising stability and international cooperation.
“This is a really strong result for the pro-European candidate,” Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at consultancy Eurasia Group, said in a Reuters report. “It’s another example of the positive Trump effect on European election cycles where concerns about the political and policy direction moving in a MAGA-like way have mobilized voters.”
Dan’s victory brought relief to EU and NATO officials concerned about maintaining alliance unity on Ukraine’s eastern flank. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Dan, calling Romania “a reliable partner,” while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the outcome as choosing “an open, prosperous Romania in a strong Europe.”
Despite his victory, Dan faces significant economic challenges, including Romania’s large budget deficit and risk of credit rating downgrade.
“There will be a difficult period ahead, necessary for economic rebalancing to lay the foundations of a healthy society,” Dan told supporters.
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