The ultranationalist candidate George Simion, a supporter of the Trumpist movement Make Europe Great Again (MEGA) and of Russia, placed first in the runoff for the presidential elections in Romania, scheduled for May 25. These primary elections took place on May 4 after last year's elections were annulled by the Constitutional Court due to Russian interference deemed decisive in the electoral process.
Calin Georgescu had won the first round, which was annulled by the Constitutional Court due to Russian assistance through a disinformation campaign on social media that favored this singular admirer of fascism and Nazism. The candidates in first and second place, Georgescu and journalist Elena Lasconi, respectively, could not participate in the repeated election. George Simion took Georgescu's place as the ultranationalist standard-bearer and achieved 33.1% of the preferences according to preliminary results.
The second spot for access to the final election was contested by liberal Crin Antonescu and independent Nicusor Dan, who is the popular mayor of the capital, Bucharest. Meanwhile, in England, the Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, won local elections, which has put Farage in a position close to Downing Street, according to Spanish analysts, removing electoral supremacy from the ‘Tories’ of the British right.
The rise of the far right in Europe has been strongly evidenced by these events, showing a political landscape pointing to the breakdown of the two-party system in Great Britain and the consolidation of political leaders with clearly defined positions towards the European Union and the global political spectrum.
