The rise of the far right in Europe has undergone an important test in the elections on Sunday in Poland and Romania, the two most populous countries in Eastern Europe. Surprise to the Romanian ballot boxes with the victory of the mayor of Bucharest Nicusor Dan, who ran for the presidency as an independent, supported by a vast centrist coalition. In Poland, the pro-European candidate Rafal Trzaskowski, mayor of the capital Warsaw, was the most voted and will play the second round on June 1st.
The rise of the far right in Europe has undergone an important test in the elections on Sunday in Poland and Romania, the two most populous countries in Eastern Europe. Surprise to the Romanian ballot boxes with the victory of the mayor of Bucharest Nicusor Dan, who ran for the presidency as an independent, supported by a vast centrist coalition. In Poland, the pro-European candidate Rafal Trzaskowski, mayor of the capital Warsaw, was the most voted and will play the second round on June 1st.
LetÃcia Fonseca-Sounder, RFI correspondent in Brussels
The results of the elections in Romania and Poland have a direct impact on the future of democracy in Europe. The defeat of the far right in Romania strengthens the cohesion of the European Union and maintains Romanian support for Ukraine.
The centrist Nicusor Dan was elected with about 54% of the votes, exceeding the nationalist George Simion, who also claims the victory, with 46% of the votes detected.
In Poland, democracy has also been strengthened, at least for now. If the centerist Rafal Trzaskowski wins the second round, scheduled for June 1st, he will certainly encourage the pro-US approach of Prime Minister Donald Tusk to the country’s internal policy.
Considering the most important elections in the post-communist history of Romania, the victory of Dan, the current mayor of Bucharest, is attributed to a high popular participation, including the votes of the Romanian diaspora, estimated at six million people. The frequency rate in the second round was almost 65%, ten more percentage points than in the first round.
Mathematician with training in Sorbonne, Dan founded the UNIão Salve Romania party (USR) in 2016, but left the subtitle later. Pró-Europe and Pro-Totan defend the continuity of assistance to Ukraine and the deepening of relations with Brussels. It is described as methodical and calm, with a trajectory marked by the fight against corruption and real estate speculation. He presented himself as an alternative to a far -right candidate who, according to him, could destabilize the country.
In the last days of the campaign, Dan declared that the elections represented a choice between “a democratic Romania, stable and respected in Europe” and “a dangerous path of insulation, populism and lack of respect for the rule of law”.
After the release of the result, George Simion – admirer of Donald Trump and nostalgic of the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu – claimed an electoral fraud and said his supporters are ready to protest.
New round in June
From the return of Donald Tusk to the position of prime minister in 2023, Poland was approached by the European Union. Tusk tries to restore the constitutional and legal order of the country after eight years of government of the ultra party -conservatives of law and justice (Pis), marked by democratic arrest bars.
In this context, the candidate of the Civic Coalition (Po) and the mayor of Warsaw, Rafal Trzaskowski, 53 years old, won the first round of presidential elections with over 30% of the votes. During the campaign, he promised to liberalize the laws on abortion, protect LGBTQIA+rights, expand the expense for the defense and combat of inflation.
The election is considered a crucial test for the pro-US government, which must face the progress of populism in the country. Trzaskowski will face the nationalist Karol Nawrock historian in the second round of 1 June, supported by Pi and considered Donald Trump’s favorite candidate.
With the slogan “Poland first, first Poles”, Nawrocki tries to attract the vote of voters contrary to the presence of over one million Ukrainian refugees in the country.
On the eve of the vote, Tusk accused “Russian hackers” of IT attacks against the party’s coalition sites. With the war in Ukraine, Poland has strengthened its strategic position in the eastern NATO Eastern and became one of the main voices of the region against Russian aggression.
Source: Terra
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