Far-right European leaders Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini publicly congratulated Romania’s ultranationalist presidential candidate George Simion for placing first in the first round of the presidential elections held on Sunday, May 4.
French opposition leader Marine Le Pen argued that the vote represented a defeat for European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, often portrayed as an authoritarian by far-right parties.
“Romania has just given Mrs. von der Leyen a very nice boomerang,” said Le Pen, who was the favorite for the presidential elections scheduled in France in 2027 before a conviction for misappropriating the EU. Now, Le Pen is banned from holding public office, according to HotNews.
The Italian deputy prime minister also welcomed Simion’s victory. “In Romania, the people have finally voted freely, with their heads and hearts. What a message for the ‘masters’ in Brussels and their dirty tricks! Bravo, George Simion!” wrote Matteo Salvini on X, who had previously criticized the cancellation of the presidential elections in Romania. Salvini’s far-right party Lega is part of the government led by Giorgia Meloni, whom Simion praised repeatedly.
AUR leader George Simion won the first round of the presidential elections on Sunday by a wide margin, obtaining 41% of the votes. The second-placed candidate, independent pro-European mayor of Bucharest Nicusor Dan, received 21% of votes.
The candidate of the ruling alliance, Crin Antonescu, came in third with 20% and said he would not make any recommendation to voters for the second round in over two weeks. In fourth place, Victor Ponta (13%) stated that he would campaign for one of the two finalists, but did not announce which one. However, Ponta was previously close to Simion’s party.
radu@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Matteo Salvini and Marine Le Pen on Facebook)
