Interview: George Simion, presidential candidate, explains Romania’s crisis and issues a global warning on democracy

Romania is a "testing ground," George Simion said when asked why his country's situation should matter to Europe or the rest of the world. The conservative, who is leading in the polls for the upcoming May 4 presidential election, was visiting Washington, D.C., to alert the U.S. and the world to the danger of democracy falling in his country. We spoke with him about the chaos in Romania and what the international community could do about it.

Simion is the vice president of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR) and co-founder of the Alliance for the Unification of Romanians (AUR) party. On November 24, 2024, presidential elections were held in Romania. Independent candidate Călin Georgescu and Elena Lasconi went to the second round, but the Constitutional Court annulled the results; the left in Romania alleged Russian intervention. They called for new elections and banned Georgescu from participating. George Simion, who won 13.9% of the vote in the first round in 2024, assumed the leadership of the right and seems to have captured Georgescu's votes, achieving first place in the latest polls.

George Simion's movement has been compared to the MAGA movement. To start the conversation by giving some context to the American public about the political ideas of who could become the next president of Romania and asked him about the similarities between his political platform and that of President Donald Trump.

He told us, "We are perfectly aligned ideologically with the MAGA movement. We believe in patriotism, in God, in family, and in freedom. We are being exposed to an authoritarian, tyrannical regime that has taken over the European Union, led by unelected bureaucrats. Of course, we are in an extraordinary situation in which we must fight for democracy and freedom. We are a classic conservative party, a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party. I am also the vice president at the European level of this group, which is led by Giorgia Meloni."

Simion explained what happened in the 2024 elections as follows: "The man who was not part of the system, of the establishment, won the elections. People voted for him. He was supposed to be the new president, Mr. Karim Giorgescu. But they annulled the elections just because they were too incompetent to win them, even while forming the government. So, people voted against the government. He was supposed to have a democratic transition of power, but it didn't happen."

When asked about the significance of what is happening in Romania for Europe and the world in general, he assured that, at the moment, Romania is a "testing ground." The leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians sees the situation in his country as part of a global plan to move the European Union towards totalitarianism and against freedom. "They want to impose authoritarian regimes across the European Union in order to cling to power and to create what is very dangerous: two different geopolitical blocs. They want to set the European Union against the United States. But we see them as allies. This is why, at the European level, the ECR is the most pro-transatlantic political party."

About his opponent, we asked him how he would describe Helena Lasconi. He defined her as a "globalist puppet." Simion assured that the other candidates "support evil and promote things that go against God's will." He also said that he is the only sovereigntist candidate and "the only representative of the patriotic forces that want to put Romania first, following the model of Donald Trump."

Finally, he sent a message to Americans asking them to share on their social media and with their community the situation Romania is going through. "Tweet, tweet, spread the word—stand together for the Romanian people, and we, as Romanians, will stand in solidarity with you. It is time to unite our voices and have our message—one of peace, of life, of human dignity—heard on the international stage."