With Georgescu barred from running this time, George Simion — the 38-year-old leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) — has taken on his mantle and moved into pole position. Polls would suggest he is almost certain to get through to the second round on May 18, when the two top-placed candidates from the first round will face off.

George Simion, leader of the far-right party Alliance for the Union of Romanians, easily dominated the first round of the presidential elections, both in the diaspora and nationally. Around 53% of the nearly 18 million voters in Romania cast a vote on Sunday,

When asked about future support for Ukraine, Simion said that “Romania will not give a single cent to any other country anymore and will focus on its own people.” Read also: Romanian presidential candidate calls for ban on Ukrainian grain shipments “Ukraine needs us — we don’t need Ukraine,