
The Irish Times view on Romania's election: a skew to the right
Romania's ultranationalist leading candidate for the presidency, George Simion, who has vowed to 'Make Romania Great Again', has nailed his colours explicitly to the Trump mast. If elected in the second round of voting on Sunday, he has made clear, for example, that on Ukraine he will join the EU's awkward squad led by Hungary in hobbling military support for the embattled country.
In a TV debate Simion promised he will not vote to send 'military aid to Ukraine because I will consult in defence matters with the American side', and follow any decisions of the US president.
Romania's vote marks yet another recent international election in which the heavy hand of the US president has played what is often a deciding role. In Canada, Greenland, and Australia, he substantially boosted centre-left, anti-Trump majorities. In Germany, and arguably in the UK's local elections, he played into the success of the populist right.
Polling by a European think tank, the EPC, suggests, however, that the Trump effect has been to change the nature of European far-right campaign politics, rather than boosting them significantly. A YouGov poll also showed that since Trump's re-election, favourable views of the US have sharply declined across western Europe, dropping from 48 to just 20 per cent in Denmark, 52 to 32 per cent in Germany, and 50 to 34 per cent in France
READ MORE
Simion won 41 per cent of the ballots cast in the re-run first round on May 4th, double his rival Nicusor Dan, the pro-EU centrist mayor of Bucharest. Polls show Simion heading for an outright win, backed by Calin Georgescu, the controversial figure at the centre of November's election annulment after accusations he had benefited from Russian interference.
The controversial annulment of the first round appears to have had little effect on the rise of the far right, which will move to consolidate its likely victory with parliamentary elections to put in place a sympathetic government. European capitals will watch on nervously.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

The Journal
an hour ago
- The Journal
Justice Minister to seek government approval for new terrorism offences bill today
JUSTICE MINISTER JIM O'Callaghan will seek government approval this morning for a bill that would add three new terrorist offences to existing law. Those three new offences are receiving training for terrorism, travelling for the purpose of terrorism, and organising or facilitating travelling for the purpose of terrorism. The aim of the Terror Offences Bill is to give the state the ability to prosecute people who travel abroad to take part in terrorist activity, known as the 'foreign terrorist fighter phenomenon'. The Department of Justice said this new bill would bring Ireland's counter-terrorism laws into line with those of other EU countries. 'It will facilitate Ireland's participation in enhanced counter-terrorism networks across the EU, giving An Garda Síochána the ability to tap into those networks to respond to both domestic and cross-border terrorist threats,' the Department said. The Department said the bill marks 'a significant step forward in ensuring that Ireland's counter-terrorism framework is robust and fit for purpose in the face of modern terrorist threats'. Advertisement In cases where people are being sentenced for terrorist training or recruiting, the bill would also allow courts to treat the targeting of children as an aggravating factor. The UN Security Council has defined 'foreign terrorist fighters' as people 'who travel or attempt to travel to a State other than their States of residence or nationality, and other individuals who travel or attempt to travel from their territories to a State other than their States of residence or nationality, for the purpose of the perpetration, planning, or preparation of, or participation in, terrorist acts, or the providing or receiving of terrorist training'. Examples of such actors include people who travelled to join ISIS. According to the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT), there are some concerns about the definition and the impacts on people's rights. Those issues include 'the labelling of individuals, as well as their families, by association, as foreign terrorist fighters, difficulties related to the criminal regulation of individuals' intentions, and the blurring of lines between terrorism and armed conflict'. These, UNCCT said in a report on the impact of the phenomenon on children, 'have consequences for human rights protection and the protection regime under international humanitarian law'. 'There are concerns that the term may also lead to stigmatization and dehumanization, especially for children.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal

The Journal
2 hours ago
- The Journal
Ireland seeking that EU avoid implementing counter tariffs on the US, cabinet to hear
The potential US response to the EU's tariffs poses a great risk to lucrative Irish businesses. Alamy Alamy POTENTIAL EUROPEAN TARIFFS on American-made goods and the possible impact they could have on the Irish economy are a cause of concern for the government, the cabinet will hear today. European countermeasures, announced last month , seek to place tariffs on goods such as US-made aeroplanes, alcohol, pharmaceutical products and items in the agri-food sector. Should a trade deal not be reached next month, the EU will implement the measures, the European Commission, the institution responsible for trade between member states and other countries, has said. There are serious concerns that the US's response to the EU's countermeasures could impact Ireland's lucrative aviation, pharma, drinks and agri-food industries. Tánaiste and trade minister Simon Harris will update cabinet on Ireland's position today. In a letter to European Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, Harris will outline the position of the Irish government. He will say that any EU countermeasures against the US should not harm European businesses. Advertisement The Fine Gael leader will also tell the Slovak politician that Ireland is seeking that the Commission avoid escalating economic tensions between the EU and US, at all costs, and avoid imposing the tariffs at all. Counter tariffs should also not have a 'disproportionate' impact on one country, Harris will also say. Trade negotiations between the two blocs are 'advancing', cabinet will hear this morning, as the July deadline approaches. Should a mutual agreement not be reached, the EU has said it will impose its countermeasures on the US on 14 July. Similarly, American President Donald Trump has said he would implement 50% on European member states if there is no deal . Updates on special schools Also before cabinet today, education minister Helen McEntee will tell her colleagues that 399 special classes have been sanctioned for the upcoming school year. Admissions commenced for spaces in April. McEntee will tell cabinet that her department and the National Council of Special Education have been directed to ensure that children are accepted into new classes much earlier for the 2026/27 school year. Junior minister for special education Michael Moynihan has given assurances that special school spaces will be made available to all students in need . Hundreds of children with additional needs in recent years have been left without a school place or certainty of enrolment due to a shortage in the necessary spaces in the Irish education system. Parents will be invited to notify the National Council of Special Education in October if their children will be in need of a special school place in September 2026. Places for those students will be allocated by the end of the year. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal


Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Ireland must stop ‘free-riding' on security ‘gifted by others', says former Chief of Staff
Ireland must stop 'free-riding' on security gifted by others, spend significantly more on defence and co-operate with other states to secure key undersea Atlantic cables, former Defence Forces Chief of Staff Mark Mellett has said. None of this, however, means that Ireland should join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) , the retired Naval Service vice-admiral told a debate on neutrality hosted by the West Cork History Festival. The security threat has evolved beyond air, land and sea and now covers cybersecurity and issues in space, he said, and Ireland must learn to 'hedge' against threats by being able 'to collaborate with others'. The risks facing undersea fibre-optic cables in Irish waters directly threaten Ireland's economic future, requiring co-operation with European Union states, the UK and, perhaps, the United States, he said. READ MORE '(The cables) are the arteries of our economic success. Trillions of euros of trade are piped through all of that. If that infrastructure was to collapse, business would collapse,' said the former Chief of Staff, who has taken up a number of roles since he left military service in 2021, including with the consultancy firm Green Compass. 'State security is inextricably linked with economic security.' He was speaking days after Russian ambassador Yuriy Filatov threatened Ireland with 'inevitable consequences' for supporting the seizure of Russian funds held in European Union accounts. Outlining the threats facing Ireland, Mr Mellett said the Health Service Executive cyberattack in 2021 'whether we like it or not' was launched from the Russian Federation, describing it as 'a terrible onslaught on our institutions'. Meanwhile, planned exercises by the Russian Navy in Irish waters off the south-west coast in February 2022, shortly before the Ukraine invasion, were a deliberate attempt to show the European Union that it could face threat on both sides, he said. [ Ireland cannot protect its waters alone, UN expert says Opens in new window ] One of 'the less articulated facts' surrounding the Russian plans 'to appropriate 5,000 square kilometres of Irish jurisdiction waters' was to put up a show in the lead-up to the invasion of Ukraine, he said. 'The Russian Federation could demonstrate it could bracket Europe with conventional weapons using a task force on the west coast of Ireland, and, obviously, its intention to invade Ukraine on the eastern side of Europe. 'That was a message to all of Europe. It was happening in our jurisdiction, and we couldn't do anything about it,' he said, adding that Ireland must work with others 'to ensure our jurisdiction is not being used for malign activities that will certainly threaten our neighbours'. 'Matters have changed in recent decades. We're no longer an island behind an island. We're part of a network of states in Europe that have been hugely successful because of shared values, shared infrastructure, a shared economy,' said Mr Mellett, one of a number of speakers who addressed the West Cork History Festival debate held in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin on Monday. 'Ireland, in terms of playing its part, has to look at how best it can position itself to carry its weight in this new world.' [ Liam Cunningham says Government is 'siding with warmongers' as he endorses Irish neutrality campaign Opens in new window ] Warning against 'threat inflation', however, the chair of the long-established Peace and Neutrality Alliance, Stephen Kelly, said: 'There are threats, and there are military threats as well, but they're not the same.' Undersea fibreoptic cables are privately owned, he said, adding: 'I would suggest that it's for their owners primarily to protect them. They're already benefitting from very favourable tax treatment. 'So, where there's a threat there, I don't see, quite frankly, it as being a military issue for us to protect them. I think that our military is there to defend our country as a first line of defence.'