By early Sunday afternoon, the results of the first round of the presidential election in Romania, and a first or even second place showing of the man proudly known as "the Romanian Donald Trump," will be known.
Whether George Simion comes in first or second in a crowded contest in which his strongest opponent is Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, the results will be big news worldwide. Simion, 38, leads the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) Party and his performance at the polls Sunday is likely to be the latest in a string of recent strong showings by candidates and parties considered "nationalist" and "populist" — in Germany, Austria, France, and the Netherlands.
"We are a sort of Trumpist party in this new wave of political parties in Europe," Simion told the Financial Times last week. Like Trump in the recent U.S. election, Simion benefits from voter reaction to the high cost of living and growing impatience with his country's support of Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.
And he promises to "Make Romania Great Again" — in Romanian terms, an obvious reference to his platform plank vowing to annex territories in neighboring Moldova that are inhabited by Romanians. (Simion's positions on Moldova and Ukraine have led both countries to deny him a visa on the grounds he is violating their sovereignty).
Much like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Simion is a vigorous opponent of vaccines.
"He seems to draw from young people and old people alike," John Florescu, executive producer of the Bucharest-based Chainsaw Films and onetime producer for Sir David Frost, told Newsmax. "In the last Presidential debate, he proved to be a smooth and skilled talker who is moving deceptively toward the center — in short, cleaning up his act. In a quest to make the right associations, his party has had huge banners of Trump in the center of the city as if Simion was a kind of kindred Trump ally. He is also pro family and anti-woke."
Should Simion win the presidency in the anticipated runoff Dec. 8, he would inarguably provide support in the European Union's 27-member European Council to Prime Ministers Viktor Orban of Hungary and Robert Fico of Slovakia — both of whom have clashed with fellow EU members over issues ranging from support for Ukraine to individual nations' sovereignty.
The analogies to Trump notwithstanding, Simion has a similarity to Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of France's nationalist party now headed by daughter Marine. Like the elder Le Pen, Simion began his career leading marches for controversial Hungarian figures and the marches soon degenerated into brawls that frequently led to their leader's arrest.
The last INSCOP poll of likely voters nationwide showed Ciolacu topping the field of presidential candidates with 25% followed by Simion with 21%. That was a week ago. Now it is up to the voters, as Europe and the world are watching closely.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.