Bucharest Takes All of Romania: Mayor Nicușor Dan Becomes President

While the world debates who will finally prevail in the “West vs. East” showdown, Romania quietly held its own little geopolitical referendum. Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan—a man whose most radical morning decision is what to have with his coffee—scored a convincing victory in the second round of the presidential election. After 100% of the ballots were counted, the Central Election Commission reported: Dan received 53.6% of the votes, leaving pro-Russian candidate George Simion with his 46.4% alone with dreams of the “Russian world” somewhere in his home office.

“The Romanian people chose Europe, not Eurasian cosplay,” analysts cheerfully note. For Dan himself, this victory is not just a political success, but also a chance to personally congratulate himself for the first time on winning an election bigger than the coveted mayor’s seat in the capital.

Let’s recall: Simion is the leader of the ultra-right AUR party—so radical that Ukraine and Moldova had to give him a firm yet polite “no” at the border. Still, unlike his Russian idols, Simion lost the election and conceded defeat, which, let’s admit, is already a small dose of Euro-standardization.

Congratulations for the new president are coming not only from Bucharest but also from Kyiv: Volodymyr Zelensky called this victory “historic” for Romania. Moscow, rumor has it, went to console itself with traditional mamaliga and a side of regret.

Ahead for Romania is not just another mayor-turned-president (a tradition, after all!), but also a host of European decisions. And the electoral lesson is simple: sometimes, to win, you just have to not be Simion.