Will Romania take votes from the European mainstream?

When Romania’s presidential elections were canceled at the end of last year after claims from Russian interference, an extreme right-wing conspiracy theorist was blocked for the top job.

Many Romanians were deeply relieved; Many others were angry that their voices were stolen.

But six months later, with the country back at the polls, there is another hard-right Euro-Sceptic in the race for President.

George Simion won the first round of the new elections on 4 May with a large margin. Now the former football casual is the nationalist politician confronted with Nicusor Dan, the liberal mayor of Bucharest.

It is a mood that Romania, a member of both NATO and the European Union (EU), could see, a sharp turn of the European mainstream.

Both candidates cast their votes on Sunday morning, where Simion said that he had voted for the future “who only needs to be decided by Romanians, for Romanians and for Romania”.

While reporters said that he voted for “cooperation with our European partners and not for an isolation of Romania”.

The polls have been too close to call.

Teleorman County is one of the poorest areas in Romania and has been a solid social-democrat area for many years. But earlier this month, 57% of voters chose Simion for President in the first round of voting.

A few hours’ drive southwest of Bucharest, access to the region is announced in blue letters on a rusty metal arch on the main road.

The streets are covered with wild poppies, no campaign posters for the candidates. There is no clear sign of the elections.

But social media feeds on the phones of people full of political content.

The newest clip to go viral has a folk fantasy world of embroidered tops, prayers and bears and has the slogan “I choose Romania”.

“It was an anti-system, voting anti-Mainream,” is how Felicia Alexandru of Aperio Intelligence explains the national increase in support for the extreme right-wing candidate in the first round.

After more than three decades from the same parties that dominate politics, frustration with corruption and poor performance was built.

“People are so unhappy with what happened at a high level, this is a voice against it,” says Felicia.

The protest voice is not limited to the poorest or the most dissatisfied.

The Comalat Dairy Firm is unrecognizable from the company that Petre Filip launched 25 years ago.

At the time, he would go on his way every day at 5:00 am in his Dacia to drive round farms that buy milk. He then delivered the cheese and yogurt by hand every night by his three employees to customers.

His old packaging machine is now in the lobby as a reminder of the early days. But since then, Petre has received € 1.5 million (£ 1.3 million; $ 1.7 million) in EU finance to modernize and expand his business. It is money he never has to pay back.

“That was real, very good for us,” enthusiastically the businessman and shows off a production line of glittering metal machines in different rooms.

He has more than 50 employees.

“I love George Simion,” Mihaela employee announces with a smile, squeezing liquid from large lumps of curd cheese.

She shrugs when I call fear in Brussels that he would make EU-Romania relationships very turbulent.

“He is on the side of Romanians. He is for the people. To create jobs and a better life,” Mihaela replies.

Simion talks a lot about “making Romania great again”, who in the US, following the US, is reflected in the US in the US. He also has the same isolationist approach: Romania first in everything.

When he is pushed, he called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal for his invasion in Ukraine.

But just like Donald Trump, he has also promised to put an end to military aid to Kiev and he has unclear the future of Ukraine’s vital grain export via Romania.

Simion is banned from Ukraine and Moldova before calling territory that there is part of Romania.

In his last eruptions this week, he called his election opponent an “autistic, poor guy”.

He also accused French President Emmanuel Macron of having “dictatorial tendencies”.

Mr Filip says that Simion is “far too impulsive” to become president, driven by hormones, not his brain. ”

But he is so disillusioned by the entire scene that he is inclined not to vote at all.

Just on the road in Roorniori de Vede, they also discuss the elections – and ferrets.

Roxana runs a factory that makes work uniforms, also for the army in another EU country.

Her clients have asked themselves to wonder if Romania is about to vote for a “pro-Russian” president.

“They want to know if their orders are safe!” She laughs.

Roxana himself intends to vote for the man to which people refer to by his first name, Nicusor, because she likes how he managed Bucharest as mayor.

She is also deeply disturbed by what she calls Simion’s “hooligan” behavior.

“It is such a bad image for Romania in Europe. I am ashamed,” says Roxana and remembers the insults of the candidate about Macron this week.

In another recent incident, Simion threatened to attack a female MP sexually and called her a pig.

“Compare that with a person who has won the International Mathematics Olympiad,” says Roxana, referring to a competition who then won in the 1980s. He went out of doctorate from the Sorbonne.

In anticipation of the vote of the second round, Roxana and her friend Andrea have been involved in a basic initiative to convince voters to support.

“I tried to say why Simion’s plan is unfeasible, but I don’t think I was super successful,” Andrea admits and says she is “very worried”.

“I see what people say online and they really believe in Simion and think he will shake everything and get the system down.

“They think it’s all bad, but it isn’t.”

Her own candidate, then, is emphatically pro-Eu and Pro-Navo, and his campaign slogan is “honesty”.

“I promise no miracles,” is his modest election promise. “But I promise I will fight.”

If that fight fails and Simion wins, he will not be the only hard-right candidate at the forefront of Romanian politics.

Much of his support comes from those who originally voted for Calin Georgescu, the edge figure who won the first elections in November before it was canceled on national grounds for safety.

The two men have often appeared side by side since then and Simion has promised to make Georgescu’s prime minister if he is chosen.

It is unclear how that could work, given that he was accused of benefiting “massive” and “aggressive” interference with Moscow.

“If Simion wins, there will be chaos in politics from Monday,” Roxana predicts, including for the economy.

“The question is whether he will remain in the shadow of Georgescu, or completely changes the perspective,” Felicia agrees.

“Is this a campaign strategy, or what he believes in?”