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Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The James Bond-style Soviet spy cameras disguised as everyday objects for use in the Cold War
A treasure trove of 'extremely discrete' James Bond-style cameras used by Soviet spies against their Cold War rivals is set to fetch thousands of pounds at auction. The gadgets, which include cameras disguised as folders, briefcases, and more, were built for use by the KGB, the Stasi, and other Eastern Bloc spy agencies. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the murky history of most of the items remains shrouded in mystery. But a few precious details survive for some. For example, the Oko II camera – which was made by the Czech company, Meopta – was formerly used in a European embassy And the device in Lot 435, a brass Stasi camera, seems to have been custom made for a specific individual or mission. One gadget was actually produced on the near side of the iron curtain – an ingenious wristwatch camera from West German manufacturer Steinheil. And the Tochka is similar to the Riga Minox camera used by George Lazenby in the Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. A spy camera from West German manufacturer Steinheil disguised as a watch Michal Kosakowski, head of appraisals at German firm Leitz Photographica Auction, which is handling the sale, described the cameras as 'extremely discrete'. He said: 'The more advanced designs, such as the Tochka and Oko II, operate almost silently and are very difficult to detect. 'The intended use depends on the specific camera. 'Some, like the briefcase camera or the Tochka, were designed for field operations and could be carried on the body. 'The Tochka, for instance, had multiple concealment options. 'Others, such as the Oko II, which is hidden in a file folder, were intended for stationary use.' All the cameras are 'quite rare', and some are deceptively simple, Mr Kosakowski said. 'The level of sophistication varies,' he said. 'While simple designs like the pinhole camera in Lot 428 could be operated by virtually anyone, more complex devices required specialised training. 'For example, Lot 435 – a Stasi camera – required a specific setup for document copying, with precise distance, lighting, and exposure time.' He continued: 'The briefcase camera in Lot 427 consists of a slightly modified Zorki and a fairly crude mechanism. 'In contrast, the Oko II is highly advanced, featuring a top-grade electromechanical shutter and completely silent film transport. 'On the simpler end, some devices like those in Lots 428 and 435 are fully mechanical, yet robust and highly reliable.' Despite the cameras all going to auction on the same date, they weren't part of the same collection. Mr Kosakowski said: 'These cameras come from various sources. 'It's actually a coincidence that so many ended up in the same auction – an unusual and fortunate convergence.' Also up for grabs is the Leica o-Serie No. 112, which is described as 'one of the world's oldest and rarest film cameras', and is set to fetch up to €2m (£1.6m). Estimates for the miniature and spy cameras vary from €500 (£420) to €10,000 (£8,400). The cameras will go under the hammer in Wetzlar, Germany, on June 27.
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Brits are rushing to buy homes for £3k without even seeing them in this unlikely country - now YOU could join the boom
Bulgaria: home of rose oil, numerous resorts on the Black Sea, some of the world's finest Byzantine preserved architecture - and somewhere in the region of 5,000 Britons. The Balkan state, nestled at the edge of the former Eastern Bloc, is welcoming an influx of British expats attracted by its low cost of living, cheap property prices and the promise of Slavic sun. Results from the 2021 Bulgarian census show there were 4,484 British citizens living in the country, up from 2,605 in 2011. Many are fleeing sky-high mortgages and spiralling interest rates in the UK - and snapping up dirt-cheap ramshackle properties to turn into their dream homes. So enthusiastic are some buyers that they're buying plots and homes on eBay, often unseen, and knuckling down to restore them for far less than it would cost to renovate a similar property in Britain. And they're moving out there despite it being the European Union's poorest state - with the lowest GDP per head of around £11,857, less than a third of the UK's - which is also in the throes of political turmoil. Three rounds of attempting to form a coalition government last autumn eventually saw the right-leaning GERB and ITN parties form an uneasy alliance with the BSP - United Left. The election was marred by allegations of voter intimidation and fraud. The spectre of Delyan Peevski, a heavily sanctioned oligarch accused of operating like a mafioso, still looms large despite his failure to win a spot in government. Have YOU bought a property in Bulgaria? Email Donna Hardy, from Scunthorpe, moved to Bulgaria last year and bought a huge house with land for just under £22,000 Jordan Vye pictured with daughter Fae outside their Bulgarian farmhouse Britons have been moving to Bulgaria in increasing numbers in recent years to snap up bargain properties - like this £8,000 three-bed home primed for renovation Welsh couple Maxwell and Leah Jones, who have snapped up the house pictured above, with their two kids Lorenzo and Indy The inside of the house in Bulgaria - which the couple purchased without even viewing Peevski has been sanctioned in the UK and US over allegations of bribing government officials and embezzling state funds, while also leaning on the courts and the security services to protect himself from public scrutiny. But despite being known as a 'mafia state' by many due to claims of political corruption, the allure of cheap homes, a low cost of living and sun by the Black Sea has been too much for expats to resist. Gemma Stevenson moved to the country in 2007 and set up Bulgarian Property Experts to help other Britons find their perfect home. UK vs Bulgaria: How do costs compare? UK expats Maxwell and Leah Jones are leaving life in Prestatyn, Wales behind to relocate to Bulgaria. Here, they detail their approximate costs now, and after they move: UK Rent: £680 a month Electric and gas bill: £250 a month Food shop: £130 to £200 a week Council tax: £140 a month WiFi: £45 Water: £40 to £50 a month Bulgaria (estimated) Electric bill: £15 to £20 a month Food shop: £40 to £80 a week Council tax: £25 a year WiFi: £60 to £100 a year Water: £5 a month Advertisement !- - ad: - -> Corresponding with MailOnline by email, she said people were drawn to the country by its low cost of living across property, food, bills and transport - as well as its breathtaking landscapes and enviable weather. 'Whether you're renting or buying, the prices are significantly lower than in most Western European countries,' she said. There are other draws: a low crime rate in rural communities outside of major cities - where the Foreign Office warns that pickpockets can run rife - and, inevitably, some things that Britons can only dream of. 'It has more than 300 days of sunshine a year, particularly in the south,' she notes - far more than back home. And there's also its position on the continent, at the furthest reaches of the European Union, bordering on Greece and Turkey, which are both accessible by road or dirt-cheap trains. An overnight couchette on the Sofia-Istanbul Express can run to as little as 30 Euros. But Ms Stevenson says there is also a culture of Bulgarians being a welcoming people - one that can take Britons by surprise at first, before drawing them in. She moved with her daughter Sky - who is now studying at a university in the northern city of Veliko Tarnovo - and has become engaged to electrician Georgi, with whom she has had another daughter, Katrina. In her experience, the country could not have been more accommodating as she developed her business and built relationships with local councils and lawyers. 'The local village people take young families under their wing and even if they can not speak with you in the same language, they will go out of their way to make you feel at home,' she recalled. 'They bring you homemade chutneys, preserves or wine and rakia (fruit brandy) for you to try. [In the] summer months, you will have neighbours dropping by with bags of fruit and vegetables to fill your fridges, all homegrown in the garden. 'You could not ask for a more welcoming nation.' Britons are increasingly moving to Bulgaria seeking cheaper homes, with coastal towns on the Black Sea such as Nessebar seen as attractive While Scunthorpe native Donna admits her house is 'very run down', she has been sharing constant updates on its condition and giving people an insight into Bulgarian life Bulgarian Property Experts' listings serve as a microcosm of why Britons move: a three-bed home in Popovo, a village in the north-east of Bulgaria, costs as little as 15,000 Euros (£12,000) and is primed for renovation. A fully renovated three-bed, three-bath house, which also boasts two kitchens and a 32 square metre swimming pool is just 143,000 Euros (£120,000) - barely enough for a suburban terraced house in the average British town. Among them are Maxwell and Leah Jones, aged 38 and 29, who bought a house outright for £8,000 without even viewing it after growing tired of trying to get a foot on the property ladder in Britain. The couple bought their three-bed home in Popovo, in the north-east, for less than 3 per cent of the £300,000 cost of a similar sized home in their home town of Prestatyn, Wales. They flew out in May to see it and plan to move there full time by the end of the year after investing an estimated £15-20,000 in bringing it up to scratch. With monthly living costs thought to be around £300, or £680 for a 'comfortable' living standard, they plan to raise and homeschool children Lorenzo and Indy there as they integrate themselves fully into Bulgarian life. Handily, Maxwell is a joiner. 'It was exactly like it looked online,' he said earlier this month. 'We were due to buy a house in the UK but it became hard to put all this money out and still be paying it off for 25 years. 'We looked at the price in Bulgaria and it became a no brainer.' 'Now we're mortgage-free. There is a lot to do - it's a shell but we are up for a challenge.' He will fly out in two months to re-wire the house before the rest of the family joins him before the year is out. They will then live off the land, keeping animals and growing fruit and vegetables. Last year, Scunthorpe native Donna Hardy moved out to Veliko Tarnovo - the university city where estate agent Gemma's daughter is studying - and bought a huge house for some 26,000 Euros (£21,900). The estate included a barn, several outbuildings and an acre of land - all for less than it would cost to buy a family hatchback in Britain. Bulgaria is in a state of political instability following a number of elections and accusations of vote rigging and corruption, many centred around sanctioned oligarch and MP Delyan Peevski Lewis and Jordan ditched Britain for Bulgaria in 2022, buying a dilapidated farmhouse for £7,000 where they will raise children Fae and Leo The pair had been inspired by Ben Fogle's New Lives in the Wild - and found themselves appearing on the show earlier this year Taking to TikTok to share her experience of moving overseas, she admitted the house was 'very run down' but was ready to get her hands dirty - and has, in the months since, documented the journey on social media. Posting an update to her near-50,000 followers last week, she revealed her almost unbelievably low cost of living. 'This is my property. For my electric, this month, I paid 66 lev... which works up around about £31 for the month,' she said. 'For my water, this month, I paid 22 lev, which works out around nine, ten pounds, give or take.' Ms Hardy's home does not have a connection to Bulgaria's domestic gas network, which remains in its infancy in rural areas. But she does buy gas bottles - refilling two gargantuan, waist-height gas bottles that can hold around 19kg of fuel each. 'To fill the gas bottle, up here in Bulgaria, costs you just short of 100 Lev, which works out at around £42 in English money,' she said. 'We've had that bottle since we've come out here, and we haven't used all of them, so we haven't had to fill up yet.' Refilling a smaller 13kg bottle in Britain costs around £50, depending on supplier. The stories come thick and fast: of Jordan and Lewis Vye, who packed up their life in Bournemouth and bought a dilapidated farmhouse in what they called their own 'pound shop version of Escape to the Chateau'. They purchased it unseen for just £7,000 in June 2022 after speaking to a friend who had bought another property for £3,000. Realising they were unlikely to ever be able to afford a mortgage, they hit the road with their caravan. Sharing their journey on YouTube under the name From Bournemouth to Bulgaria, the Vyes are still restoring their home - but recently hosted TV's Ben Fogle. His series New Lives in the Wild had inspired them as he visited people who had dived into a whole new lifestyle - and their journey came full circle as they appeared on the show in January. Scottish delivery driver Rob Davies bought a house in Golyamo Krushevo - and liked it so much he bought two more He snapped up this six-bed house for £3,000, before buying two more - each requiring substantial renovation He purchased the houses on eBay, unseen - as an investment in his family's long-term future On the Channel 5 show, they admitted they had been in a cycle of drinking and partying to escape their unhappiness and stress while struggling to save. But they say they have found peace raising their children among nature in Bulgaria. Jordan said: 'We've always kind of struggled to make ends meet. That really pushed us to come here because you're 30 years old and you own two acres of land and a house, three buildings, outright, no mortgage.' Lewis added: 'I was doing things I shouldn't have been doing far too regularly, and I think it feels like I'm in a better place when I'm here. When I'm here, that cycle is broken. 'And I'm just a guy who's renovating his house, who's farming his land, who's being a great dad, who's being a great husband, and I'm closer to the person that I want to be here.' And in 2023, Scottish delivery driver Rob Davies made headlines when he bought three homes in Golyamo Krushevo, Bulgaria on eBay for around £3,000 each - without ever seeing them in person. As documented in Channel 4 programme Help! We Bought a Village, Mr Davies had a huge task on his hands: fitting bathrooms, kitchens, windows, and even carrying out wiring and plumbing. 'I sent them a message saying I was interested, I want it, I think we paid a £200 deposit, got the keys and the rest is history,' he said at the time. 'It was basically four walls with a roof, but, it was ours. It felt amazing to actually go, we want a property, we can't do that in the UK.' There has been no word from him since - presumably, he's still fixing them up now. Living in Bulgaria, then, comes with a great deal of advantages, from the low cost of living to the wide availability of cheap, ready-to-renovate properties. It's not easy work and, even with lower labour and supply costs than in Britain, will doubtless require huge investment. That being said, those who move out there find themselves more than happy to put in the work. Estate agent Gemma adds: 'It's a country where you can enjoy the best of both worlds: a slower, more relaxed pace of life, reminding us of what the UK was 60 years ago, with the excitement of exploring new opportunities.'
Business Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
From Singapore to the world, creating products to solve problems
[SINGAPORE] From making and selling computers in the 1980s to now designing and manufacturing electronics for major brands, Aztech Global has come a long way since its inception in 1986. On the cusp of its 40th anniversary, Aztech has kept to a simple philosophy in deciding which products and sectors it enters. 'When you create a product, you have to solve a problem, because when you encounter a problem, you find a solution,' said Michael Mun, chief executive officer, Aztech Global which won the Enterprise Award at the Singapore Business Awards. With expertise in data communication, Aztech has produced everything from modems to WiFi-enabled cameras to the Powerline products that allow for data transmission over a power line. Powerline in particular has seen much success outside of Singapore, due to older buildings having a lack of an Internet point to connect to. 'Until today, we are still selling this product in European countries; Germany is one of the big markets,' said Mun. In the last 10 years, Aztech has entered into the Internet of Things (IoT) segment, where sensors or devices are connected in a network to share data. The majority of the company's income comes from the IoT segment now, said Mun. GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up VIEW ALL Innovating for a breakthrough The company is not content with the status quo, constantly looking to innovate and find a breakthrough to make a product better. Driven by a lack of solutions, one such product that Aztech branched into was lighting, entering the LED lighting market 15 years ago when options were limited to fluorescent and incandescent lighting. Responding to a potential lighting project for Jurong Town Council, Aztech designed a LED lighting product, which the town council eventually accepted. This led to more LED lighting projects across other town councils. 'We started from Singapore and went international, we sell a lot of LED lighting into Europe and Japan,' said Mun. Part of Aztech's success is its commitment to research and development (R&D). Rather than just purely competing on manufacturing or price, the company competes on its expertise. 'If you are fighting on price, we can never succeed or survive, because it is very competitive. We are almost 40 years old because of R&D, and customers come to us because of our design capability,' said Mun. International markets From its base in Singapore, Aztech has grown to serve international customers, with North America making up the bulk of revenue in 2024 at 79.1 per cent, and Europe taking second place at 15.5 per cent. The company set its sights on international markets early on, during its start as a PC manufacturer, breaking into the old Eastern Bloc markets of Poland, Hungary, Russia and East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall. 'Without going international we won't be where we are today because, realistically, the local market is too small for us,' said Mun. Aztech's research and development efforts are also not confined to Singapore, with R&D centres in Hong Kong and China. Singapore's small labour pool necessitated expansion into other markets to get the right talent to join the company's team. Besides making their own products, Aztech is also active in contract manufacturing and joint design and manufacturing, partnering with customers to design and manufacture their products. In helping customers design and manufacture products, a key question that Aztech asks is what is their target price. This is important as the price point has to be palatable to the eventual end-users for the product to sell. 'Whether you have a market, I think it has to be a price the consumer will be able to accept, because if the price point is not affordable, consumers cannot buy, then there is no point to create the product,' said Mun. Copycats and geopolitics There are challenges that Aztech faced in getting to this point, dealing with copycats and geopolitical tensions. Consumer electronic makers face the issue of seeing a copycat version pop up soon after their products hit the market. Aztech is not afraid of others copying their products, said Mun. Competitors will often buy your products to open up, analyse and see what they can learn. 'You have to continue to invest and expand your R&D capacity so you will be ahead of them, then you will be able to compete,' said Mun. Closer to home Dealing with geopolitical challenges have also led Aztech to move manufacturing closer to home in Malaysia, setting up a manufacturing plant in Pasir Gudang, Johor. This plant is an alternative to Aztech's China plant, and allows for products to be shipped with lower tariffs. The factory in Malaysia is about 300,000 square feet, and has led to the downsizing of the plant in China due to geopolitical tensions. 'In fact today our Malaysia plant contributes almost 80 per cent of our sales,' said Mun. Aztech's DNA still remains in product development, design and manufacturing, with the company continuing to invest in R&D for manufacturing. Automation will be a key focus moving forward, for Aztech's factories, with a combination of artificial intelligence and machines to improve quality checks. Looking to leverage on Aztech's background in electronics and automation, the company will be looking to apply this knowledge back into the two manufacturing plants. 'We develop a lot of things, but we use it inhouse. Eventually we can sell it to our customers too,' said Mun.
The Advertiser
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Romania gets new pro-European president
A pro-European Union centrist has pulled off an upset win in Romania's presidential election, beating out a hard-right nationalist who had channelled people's anger at the political establishment to surge in the polls. But the new leader now must contend with deep societal divisions that the tense vote laid bare. Final results from Sunday's presidential race showed Nicusor Dan winning 53.6 per cent of the vote, ahead of the hard-right candidate George Simion, who during the campaign portrayed his movement as championing conservative values like patriotism, sovereignty and the family, and who styled himself as the Romanian analogue to US President Donald Trump. The victory for the pro-EU candidate marked a significant comeback in a tense election that many viewed as a geopolitical choice for the former Eastern Bloc country between East or West. But as Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician, pro-Western reformist and mayor of Bucharest, takes over Romania's presidency, fault lines remain in the country where endemic corruption, inequality and an erosion of trust in traditional institutions and parties have fuelled a broad rejection of the political establishment. Dan's decisive win was a major turnaround from the first round of elections on May 4, where Simion — a nationalist who has advocated for uniting Romania with neighbouring Moldova and is banned from entering Ukraine — had nearly double Dan's share of votes to become the clear front-runner for the second round. Simion's surge to prominence came after Romania's first attempt to hold the presidential election late last year in which far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped first-round polls. The country's political landscape was upended after a top court voided the ballot, alleging electoral violations and Russian interference. While Simion was considered the favourite for the second round, a high voter turnout of 64.7 per cent in the ballot — more than in any Romanian election of the past quarter-century — is thought to have benefited Dan. Adding to the high turnout were approximately 1.6 million votes from members of Romania's large diaspora, which is primarily concentrated in Western Europe. Speaking to ecstatic supporters in the early hours of Monday following his victory, Dan struck a reformist tone, saying Romania was beginning "a new chapter, and it needs every one of you". As a member of the EU and one of the easternmost members of the NATO military alliance, Romania plays a pivotal role in Western security infrastructure — especially since Russia's full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022. After that invasion, NATO bolstered its presence on Europe's eastern flank by sending additional multinational battlegroups to Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia, and Bucharest has played an increasingly prominent role in the alliance, donating a Patriot missile system to Ukraine and opening an international training hub for F-16 jet pilots from allied countries. A pro-European Union centrist has pulled off an upset win in Romania's presidential election, beating out a hard-right nationalist who had channelled people's anger at the political establishment to surge in the polls. But the new leader now must contend with deep societal divisions that the tense vote laid bare. Final results from Sunday's presidential race showed Nicusor Dan winning 53.6 per cent of the vote, ahead of the hard-right candidate George Simion, who during the campaign portrayed his movement as championing conservative values like patriotism, sovereignty and the family, and who styled himself as the Romanian analogue to US President Donald Trump. The victory for the pro-EU candidate marked a significant comeback in a tense election that many viewed as a geopolitical choice for the former Eastern Bloc country between East or West. But as Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician, pro-Western reformist and mayor of Bucharest, takes over Romania's presidency, fault lines remain in the country where endemic corruption, inequality and an erosion of trust in traditional institutions and parties have fuelled a broad rejection of the political establishment. Dan's decisive win was a major turnaround from the first round of elections on May 4, where Simion — a nationalist who has advocated for uniting Romania with neighbouring Moldova and is banned from entering Ukraine — had nearly double Dan's share of votes to become the clear front-runner for the second round. Simion's surge to prominence came after Romania's first attempt to hold the presidential election late last year in which far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped first-round polls. The country's political landscape was upended after a top court voided the ballot, alleging electoral violations and Russian interference. While Simion was considered the favourite for the second round, a high voter turnout of 64.7 per cent in the ballot — more than in any Romanian election of the past quarter-century — is thought to have benefited Dan. Adding to the high turnout were approximately 1.6 million votes from members of Romania's large diaspora, which is primarily concentrated in Western Europe. Speaking to ecstatic supporters in the early hours of Monday following his victory, Dan struck a reformist tone, saying Romania was beginning "a new chapter, and it needs every one of you". As a member of the EU and one of the easternmost members of the NATO military alliance, Romania plays a pivotal role in Western security infrastructure — especially since Russia's full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022. After that invasion, NATO bolstered its presence on Europe's eastern flank by sending additional multinational battlegroups to Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia, and Bucharest has played an increasingly prominent role in the alliance, donating a Patriot missile system to Ukraine and opening an international training hub for F-16 jet pilots from allied countries. A pro-European Union centrist has pulled off an upset win in Romania's presidential election, beating out a hard-right nationalist who had channelled people's anger at the political establishment to surge in the polls. But the new leader now must contend with deep societal divisions that the tense vote laid bare. Final results from Sunday's presidential race showed Nicusor Dan winning 53.6 per cent of the vote, ahead of the hard-right candidate George Simion, who during the campaign portrayed his movement as championing conservative values like patriotism, sovereignty and the family, and who styled himself as the Romanian analogue to US President Donald Trump. The victory for the pro-EU candidate marked a significant comeback in a tense election that many viewed as a geopolitical choice for the former Eastern Bloc country between East or West. But as Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician, pro-Western reformist and mayor of Bucharest, takes over Romania's presidency, fault lines remain in the country where endemic corruption, inequality and an erosion of trust in traditional institutions and parties have fuelled a broad rejection of the political establishment. Dan's decisive win was a major turnaround from the first round of elections on May 4, where Simion — a nationalist who has advocated for uniting Romania with neighbouring Moldova and is banned from entering Ukraine — had nearly double Dan's share of votes to become the clear front-runner for the second round. Simion's surge to prominence came after Romania's first attempt to hold the presidential election late last year in which far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped first-round polls. The country's political landscape was upended after a top court voided the ballot, alleging electoral violations and Russian interference. While Simion was considered the favourite for the second round, a high voter turnout of 64.7 per cent in the ballot — more than in any Romanian election of the past quarter-century — is thought to have benefited Dan. Adding to the high turnout were approximately 1.6 million votes from members of Romania's large diaspora, which is primarily concentrated in Western Europe. Speaking to ecstatic supporters in the early hours of Monday following his victory, Dan struck a reformist tone, saying Romania was beginning "a new chapter, and it needs every one of you". As a member of the EU and one of the easternmost members of the NATO military alliance, Romania plays a pivotal role in Western security infrastructure — especially since Russia's full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022. After that invasion, NATO bolstered its presence on Europe's eastern flank by sending additional multinational battlegroups to Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia, and Bucharest has played an increasingly prominent role in the alliance, donating a Patriot missile system to Ukraine and opening an international training hub for F-16 jet pilots from allied countries. A pro-European Union centrist has pulled off an upset win in Romania's presidential election, beating out a hard-right nationalist who had channelled people's anger at the political establishment to surge in the polls. But the new leader now must contend with deep societal divisions that the tense vote laid bare. Final results from Sunday's presidential race showed Nicusor Dan winning 53.6 per cent of the vote, ahead of the hard-right candidate George Simion, who during the campaign portrayed his movement as championing conservative values like patriotism, sovereignty and the family, and who styled himself as the Romanian analogue to US President Donald Trump. The victory for the pro-EU candidate marked a significant comeback in a tense election that many viewed as a geopolitical choice for the former Eastern Bloc country between East or West. But as Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician, pro-Western reformist and mayor of Bucharest, takes over Romania's presidency, fault lines remain in the country where endemic corruption, inequality and an erosion of trust in traditional institutions and parties have fuelled a broad rejection of the political establishment. Dan's decisive win was a major turnaround from the first round of elections on May 4, where Simion — a nationalist who has advocated for uniting Romania with neighbouring Moldova and is banned from entering Ukraine — had nearly double Dan's share of votes to become the clear front-runner for the second round. Simion's surge to prominence came after Romania's first attempt to hold the presidential election late last year in which far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped first-round polls. The country's political landscape was upended after a top court voided the ballot, alleging electoral violations and Russian interference. While Simion was considered the favourite for the second round, a high voter turnout of 64.7 per cent in the ballot — more than in any Romanian election of the past quarter-century — is thought to have benefited Dan. Adding to the high turnout were approximately 1.6 million votes from members of Romania's large diaspora, which is primarily concentrated in Western Europe. Speaking to ecstatic supporters in the early hours of Monday following his victory, Dan struck a reformist tone, saying Romania was beginning "a new chapter, and it needs every one of you". As a member of the EU and one of the easternmost members of the NATO military alliance, Romania plays a pivotal role in Western security infrastructure — especially since Russia's full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022. After that invasion, NATO bolstered its presence on Europe's eastern flank by sending additional multinational battlegroups to Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia, and Bucharest has played an increasingly prominent role in the alliance, donating a Patriot missile system to Ukraine and opening an international training hub for F-16 jet pilots from allied countries.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Romania's new pro-European president puts it back on a Western course
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A pro-European Union centrist pulled off an upset in Romania's presidential election, beating out a hard-right nationalist who had channeled people's anger at the political establishment to surge in the polls. But the new leader now must contend with deep societal divisions that the tense vote laid bare. Final results from Sunday's presidential race showed Nicusor Dan winning 53.6% of the vote, ahead of the hard-right candidate George Simion, who during the campaign portrayed his movement as championing conservative values like patriotism, sovereignty and the family, and who styled himself as the Romanian analogue to U.S. President Donald Trump. The victory for the pro-EU candidate marked a significant comeback in a tense election that many viewed as a geopolitical choice for the former Eastern Bloc country between East or West. But as Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician, pro-Western reformist and mayor of Bucharest, takes over Romania's presidency, fault lines remain in the country where endemic corruption, inequality and an erosion of trust in traditional institutions and parties have fueled a broad rejection of the political establishment. Dan's decisive win on Sunday was a major turnaround from the first round of elections on May 4, where Simion — a nationalist who has advocated for uniting Romania with neighboring Moldova and is banned from entering Ukraine — had nearly double Dan's share of votes to become the clear front-runner for the second round. Simion's surge to prominence came after Romania's first attempt to hold the presidential election late last year in which far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped first-round polls. The country's political landscape was upended after a top court voided the ballot, alleging electoral violations and Russian interference. Capitalizing on the furor over the annulment of that election, Simion allied with Georgescu, who was banned in March from running in the election redo, and promised to appoint him prime minister if Simion secured the presidency. While Simion was considered the favorite for the second round, a high voter turnout of 64.7% in Sunday's ballot — more than in any Romanian election of the past quarter-century — is thought to have benefited Dan. Adding to the high turnout were approximately 1.6 million votes from members of Romania's large diaspora, which is primarily concentrated in Western Europe. Estimates suggest that between 4 and 5 million Romanians live abroad — nearly a quarter of the country's population. Most emigrated after Romania joined the EU in 2007, seeking relief from high unemployment and low wages. After Dan is sworn in as president in the coming days, he will face the challenge of nominating a prime minister who can garner the support necessary to form a government — a tall order in a country where anger with establishment politicians led to the emergence of figures like Georgescu and Simion. Yet Dan himself, who rose to prominence as a civic activist fighting against illegal real estate projects and ran independently on a pro-EU ticket to support Ukraine and reaffirm Western ties, is among the critics of Romania's entrenched political elite, and has argued for fiscal reforms and a crackdown on corruption. Speaking to ecstatic supporters in the early hours of Monday following his victory, he struck a reformist tone, saying Romania was beginning 'a new chapter, and it needs every one of you.' 'It needs experts to get involved in various public policies, it needs people in civil society, it needs new people in politics,' he said. Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant, says Dan will face a string of immediate challenges, including putting together a new government in what is now a 'totally new political landscape.' 'He will have to push and show reforms while meeting resistance in the state apparatus and being opposed by the new populist parties that now won 5 million votes,' Andrei said. 'He will be under pressure to deliver change to an exasperated Romania while trying to unify a divided country.' As a member of the EU and one of the easternmost members of the NATO military alliance, Romania plays a pivotal role in Western security infrastructure — especially since Russia's full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022. After that invasion, NATO bolstered its presence on Europe's eastern flank by sending additional multinational battlegroups to Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia, and Bucharest has played an increasingly prominent role in the alliance, donating a Patriot missile system to Ukraine and opening an international training hub for F-16 jet pilots from allied countries. Dan said Monday he had a call with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and that he conveyed to Rutte that Romania 'will remain a steadfast ally' within the alliance. 'At the same time, we rely on NATO to guarantee Romania's unwavering security,' he said. Many observers saw Sunday's vote as crucial to maintaining Romania's place within the network of Western alliances — especially amid fears that the Trump administration is reconsidering its security commitments to the United States' European partners. Siegfried Muresan, a Romanian member of the European Parliament, told The Associated Press on Monday that the election result was a relief for many in Brussels, the EU's de-facto capital, and that Romania is now expected to play an active role in the bloc particularly in security and defense. 'There was an erosion of Romania's credibility in the last year,' Muresan said. 'That is partly restored now through the clear victory of the pro-European candidate.' Muresan added that Romanians will expect Dan to deliver on promised reforms, but that his clear victory marks a setback for hard-right nationalism. 'People really rallied behind Europe … and understood the risks which extremists pose," he said. 'So much lies now with the new president, who is a unifier, who has campaigned on the basis of facts.'
