Why Romania's MAGA surge? Far-right Simion takes lead in presidential rerun

The pro-Trump, Eurosceptic George Simion garnering 40-percent of the vote ahead of the May 18th runoff, Simion – whose party sits in the same voting bloc as Georgia Meloni’s in the European parliament – skipping the usual victory speech at campaign headquarters to instead air a pre-recorded message where he pledged allegiance to banned pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu, the latter who back in November, thanks to a foreign-backed TikTok campaign, went from unknown to favorite. Simion even cast his vote alongside Georgescu.

He will face reformist pro-EU Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan, whose views are diametrically opposed on Europe, Ukraine, and Nato which is due to boost its presence in Romania to 10-thousand troops. What has changed in the European Union’s newest member? A member that has boasted steady growth but also huge governance and corruption issues.

More broadly, how do former Warsaw Pact nations view the closening ties between the Trump administration and the Kremlin? Romania's runoff will be the same day as Poland's own presidential election. Where do loyalties and interests lie in today’s fast-changing world?