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DW
18-05-2025
- Politics
- DW
EU watches nail-biter presidential election in Romania – DW – 05/17/2025
The hard-right "sovereignist" George Simion is going head-to-head with the pro-EU liberal Nicusor Dan in Sunday's presidential runoff in Romania. A Simion victory could trigger a crisis in the European Union. "Democracy or illiberalism," "Europe or isolation," "mathematics champion or football hooligan" — these are some of the headlines and assessments in independent Romanian media outlets in the run-up to the second round of the presidential election on Sunday. The atmosphere in Romania has rarely been as tense in recent decades. Without exception, all commentators and observers consider the country to be at a crossroads and facing a historic decision. No presidential election since the collapse of the Communist dictatorship in 1989-90 has been marked by such radical differences between the candidates and such deep societal divisions. And rarely has the result of the election been so hard to predict. Far-right candidate George Simion won the first round of the election by a large margin Image: Daniel Mihailescu/AFP Both candidates are keen to stress that they are not "part of the establishment" and do not represent Romania's traditional, post-Communist parties. Who are the two candidates? The first of the two candidates in the runoff is 38-year-old George Simion, head of the extreme right-wing, pro-Russian Alliance for the Union of Romanians party. A former football hooligan, Simion now describes himself as a "sovereignist" and is a fan of both US President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. He was the clear winner of the first round of the election on May 4, garnering almost 41% of the vote. His opponent on Sunday is 55-year-old Nicusor Dan, the independent mayor of Bucharest. Dan is a mathematician, former anti-corruption activist and a man with clear pro-European, largely liberal and at times moderately conservative positions. He came second in the first round, albeit far behind Simion on 21%. Why is the election so important? There is a huge amount at stake in this election, for both Romania and Europe. Romania is the sixth largest country in the EU and the largest in southeastern Europe. It has the longest border with Ukraine of any EU member state and is home to both the most important NATO base and missile-defense system in the region. Candidates Nicusor Dan (left) and George Simion (right) sparred in a television debate on May 8 Image: Malina Norocea/Inquam Photos/REUTERS Romania has thus far been a reliable and predictable partner for both the EU and NATO. But all that could change if Simion is elected, plunging Romania into a similar kind of chaos as the US is experiencing under Trump. What is the president's role? Although the Romanian president does not have any major executive powers, he or she is the commander-in-chief of the army and the head of the Supreme Council of National Defense. The president appoints the prime minister, the heads of the country's two most important intelligence services and some of the judges at the constitutional court, represents Romania in the EU and NATO and can also attend cabinet meetings. In short, the president can exert considerable influence on Romania's domestic and foreign policies. Who is the front-runner? Most polls published over the last two weeks put Simion ahead — sometimes by a lot; sometimes by a little. One very recent poll puts the two candidates neck and neck. However, election forecasts in Romania are notoriously unreliable. No single institute predicted Simion's runaway success in the first round of the election. Simion has been in the headlines in recent years for vile, sometimes physically violent actions and has regularly pledged to "smash the system." He has also promised more or less outright to take Romania out of both NATO and the EU and to annex the Republic of Moldova and parts of southwestern Ukraine. His pro-Russian attitudes and nationalist agitation against Romania's Hungarian minority have also attracted attention in the past. Nicusor Dan would be a pro-European president who stands for the rule of law, transparency, dependability — and unqualified support for Ukraine Image: Vadim Ghirda/AP/picture alliance More recently, however, Simion has abruptly changed his tune. By his standards, his public appearances have been calm and he no longer shouts and uses vulgar expressions. Instead of talking about Romania exiting the EU and NATO, he speaks of respect and dignity for his country. With him as president, Romania would be a partner "at eye level and no longer on its knees." What has not changed is his anti-Ukrainian agitation. Simion falsely claims, for instance, that Ukrainian people seeking protection are given preferential treatment over Romanian citizens. Another thing that has not changed is that Simion knows little about how a country is run, the economy, the EU, and foreign and defense policy. Calin Georgescu (right) won the first round of the annulled presidential election last November; George Simion (left) won the first round of the rerun in May Image: Alex Nicodim/NurPhoto/picture alliance Simion recently received a surprising election campaign boost from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who praised the right-wing extremist's sovereignty policy in a speech. This led, for the first time in many years, to a conflict between Orban and the party of the Hungarian minority in Romania, the UDMR, which has distanced itself unequivocally from Simion as a result of his earlier violent, anti-Hungarian actions. The UDMR has called on the roughly 1.2 million ethnic Hungarians living in Romania to vote for Simion's rival, Nicusor Dan. What is Dan's track record? Were Dan to win the election, Romania would have a pro-European president who stands for the rule of law, transparency, dependability and unqualified support for Ukraine. As the mayor of Bucharest, Dan has proven that he can push through reforms even if he has not been able to keep all his campaign promises. His problem is that he occasionally gets bogged down in complexities. In debates with Simion in recent weeks, he often gave very intelligent answers. However, it was also evident that he avoids conflict on certain issues and often reacts too defensively. Who would the candidates appoint as PM? Dan has said that should he win the election, he would appoint interim president Ilie Bolojan as prime minister. Bolojan is largely considered a man of integrity who enjoyed a good reputation as the mayor of the western Romanian city of Oradea. Far-right candidate stokes fear among Romania's Jews To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video As a long-time senior member of the National Liberal Party, however, Bolojan represents "the establishment," which could have a negative impact on Dan's chances. The hatred felt by a large part of Romanian society toward the establishment is the driving force in this election. Ironically, it is the self-declared "system smasher" George Simion who represents a continuation of the old nationalist, Stalinist system of former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Some members of this system are still active to this day — including in Simion's AUR party. Simion has said that should he win on Sunday, he will appoint the pro-Russian right-wing extremist Calin Georgescu prime minister. Georgescu was barred from taking part in this rerun of last November's presidential election. Throughout his entire political career, he was a protege of former Ceausescu diplomats and members of the Securitate, Romania's infamous communist-era secret police. All this explains why civil rights activist Gabriel Andreescu, a former dissident during the Ceausescu era, concluded in a recent essay that "A victory for George Simion would be the last stage in the resurrection of the former communist networks of power." This article was originally written in German and adapted by Aingeal Flanagan.
DW
17-05-2025
- Politics
- DW
EU watches high-stakes presidential election in Romania – DW – 05/17/2025
The hard-right "sovereignist" George Simion is going head-to-head with the pro-EU liberal Nicusor Dan in Sunday's presidential runoff in Romania. A Simion victory could trigger a crisis in the European Union. "Democracy or illiberalism," "Europe or isolation," "mathematics champion or football hooligan" — these are some of the headlines and assessments in independent Romanian media outlets in the run-up to the second round of the presidential election on Sunday. The atmosphere in Romania has rarely been as tense in recent decades. Without exception, all commentators and observers consider the country to be at a crossroads and facing a historic decision. No presidential election since the collapse of the Communist dictatorship in 1989-90 has been marked by such radical differences between the candidates and such deep societal divisions. And rarely has the result of the election been so hard to predict. Far-right candidate George Simion won the first round of the election by a large margin Image: Daniel Mihailescu/AFP Both candidates are keen to stress that they are not "part of the establishment" and do not represent Romania's traditional, post-Communist parties. Who are the two candidates? The first of the two candidates in the runoff is 38-year-old George Simion, head of the extreme right-wing, pro-Russian Alliance for the Union of Romanians party. A former football hooligan, Simion now describes himself as a "sovereignist" and is a fan of both US President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. He was the clear winner of the first round of the election on May 4, garnering almost 41% of the vote. His opponent on Sunday is 55-year-old Nicusor Dan, the independent mayor of Bucharest. Dan is a mathematician, former anti-corruption activist and a man with clear pro-European, largely liberal and at times moderately conservative positions. He came second in the first round, albeit far behind Simion on 21%. Why is the election so important? There is a huge amount at stake in this election, for both Romania and Europe. Romania is the sixth largest country in the EU and the largest in southeastern Europe. It has the longest border with Ukraine of any EU member state and is home to both the most important NATO base and missile-defense system in the region. Candidates Nicusor Dan (left) and George Simion (right) sparred in a television debate on May 8 Image: Malina Norocea/Inquam Photos/REUTERS Romania has thus far been a reliable and predictable partner for both the EU and NATO. But all that could change if Simion is elected, plunging Romania into a similar kind of chaos as the US is experiencing under Trump. What is the president's role? Although the Romanian president does not have any major executive powers, he or she is the commander-in-chief of the army and the head of the Supreme Council of National Defense. The president appoints the prime minister, the heads of the country's two most important intelligence services and some of the judges at the constitutional court, represents Romania in the EU and NATO and can also attend cabinet meetings. In short, the president can exert considerable influence on Romania's domestic and foreign policies. Who is the front-runner? Most polls published over the last two weeks put Simion ahead — sometimes by a lot; sometimes by a little. One very recent poll puts the two candidates neck and neck. However, election forecasts in Romania are notoriously unreliable. No single institute predicted Simion's runaway success in the first round of the election. Simion has been in the headlines in recent years for vile, sometimes physically violent actions and has regularly pledged to "smash the system." He has also promised more or less outright to take Romania out of both NATO and the EU and to annex the Republic of Moldova and parts of southwestern Ukraine. His pro-Russian attitudes and nationalist agitation against Romania's Hungarian minority have also attracted attention in the past. Nicusor Dan would be a pro-European president who stands for the rule of law, transparency, dependability — and unqualified support for Ukraine Image: Vadim Ghirda/AP/picture alliance More recently, however, Simion has abruptly changed his tune. By his standards, his public appearances have been calm and he no longer shouts and uses vulgar expressions. Instead of talking about Romania exiting the EU and NATO, he speaks of respect and dignity for his country. With him as president, Romania would be a partner "at eye level and no longer on its knees." What has not changed is his anti-Ukrainian agitation. Simion falsely claims, for instance, that Ukrainian people seeking protection are given preferential treatment over Romanian citizens. Another thing that has not changed is that Simion knows little about how a country is run, the economy, the EU, and foreign and defense policy. Calin Georgescu (right) won the first round of the annulled presidential election last November; George Simion (left) won the first round of the rerun in May Image: Alex Nicodim/NurPhoto/picture alliance Simion recently received a surprising election campaign boost from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who praised the right-wing extremist's sovereignty policy in a speech. This led, for the first time in many years, to a conflict between Orban and the party of the Hungarian minority in Romania, the UDMR, which has distanced itself unequivocally from Simion as a result of his earlier violent, anti-Hungarian actions. The UDMR has called on the roughly 1.2 million ethnic Hungarians living in Romania to vote for Simion's rival, Nicusor Dan. What is Dan's track record? Were Dan to win the election, Romania would have a pro-European president who stands for the rule of law, transparency, dependability and unqualified support for Ukraine. As the mayor of Bucharest, Dan has proven that he can push through reforms even if he has not been able to keep all his campaign promises. His problem is that he occasionally gets bogged down in complexities. In debates with Simion in recent weeks, he often gave very intelligent answers. However, it was also evident that he avoids conflict on certain issues and often reacts too defensively. Who would the candidates appoint as PM? Dan has said that should he win the election, he would appoint interim president Ilie Bolojan as prime minister. Bolojan is largely considered a man of integrity who enjoyed a good reputation as the mayor of the western Romanian city of Oradea. Far-right candidate stokes fear among Romania's Jews To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video As a long-time senior member of the National Liberal Party, however, Bolojan represents "the establishment," which could have a negative impact on Dan's chances. The hatred felt by a large part of Romanian society toward the establishment is the driving force in this election. Ironically, it is the self-declared "system smasher" George Simion who represents a continuation of the old nationalist, Stalinist system of former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Some members of this system are still active to this day — including in Simion's AUR party. Simion has said that should he win on Sunday, he will appoint the pro-Russian right-wing extremist Calin Georgescu prime minister. Georgescu was barred from taking part in this rerun of last November's presidential election. Throughout his entire political career, he was a protege of former Ceausescu diplomats and members of the Securitate, Romania's infamous communist-era secret police. All this explains why civil rights activist Gabriel Andreescu, a former dissident during the Ceausescu era, concluded in a recent essay that "A victory for George Simion would be the last stage in the resurrection of the former communist networks of power." This article was originally written in German and adapted by Aingeal Flanagan.
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Putin completes quarter century, polls show he's still popular in Kremlin's hot seat
Live Events Exactly 25 years ago on May 7, an obscure ex-KGB colonel Vladimir Putin -- with little public exposure as deputy mayor of St Petersburg -- took the oath of the highest office in the post-Communist Russia. A quarter century later, Putin, 72, still remains the most popular politician of Russia, as was evident by last year's election that Putin won with 88.48 per cent of votes a TV documentary shown on Sunday he, however, said that he was looking for a successor, but it was not in his power as the successor would have to seek a popular vote in the elections with strong Putin, it has been a 25-year journey that has come to coincide with Russia's journey in the 21st predecessor Boris Yeltsin, Russia's first directly elected president, had resigned due to failing health on the backdrop of political instability, financial and economic, militantancy in the Northern Caucasus and a spate of terrorist attacks. He handed Putin - incumbent prime minister of the country - the hot Kremlin seat on the New Year eve, December 31, was elected on March 26, 2000 bagging 53 per cent votes by beating Communist rival Gennady Zyuganov and liberal Yabloko block leader Grigory Yavlinsky in "reasonably free and fair," polls according to a declassified US Embassy cable from Moscow in way Putin resolutely fought Chechen militancy, assured timely pensions to the most vulnerable section of the society and revived manufacturing in the country generating employment, ensuring a second term with almost 72 per cent to constitutional restraint of two four-year consecutive terms, he stepped aside and took over the job of prime minister under President Dmitry Medvedev for four due to Medvedev's constitutional amendments, the Presidential term was extended to six years and in 2012 and 2018 Putin was elected with 64.95 and 77.53 per cent votes when the constitution was amended by nationwide vote in July 2020, he was given the right to contest for two more six year terms till between, Russia had taken over Crimea in a peaceful operation on the backdrop of chaos in Ukraine, which Moscow claims was due to a US doctored coup against the legitimate President Viktor Yanukovich in March years later, after US-led NATO refused Putin's demand not to further expand and give Russia 'equitable' security guarantees, Russia began a 'Special Military Operation' in Ukraine on February 24, latest opinion poll showed that Putin's popularity rating stood at 80 per cent even as the country is fighting a war in Ukraine with the collective West amid crippling won last year's election with 88.48 per cent when the highest ever post-Soviet turnout of 77.49 per cent was recorded."We are facing a war with NATO, just like under Tsar Alexander I with Napoleon, or under Stalin with Nazi Germany. We forget our differences and solidly stand for our motherland whoever is the leader," said 72-year-old pensioner Tatiana P. Putin's India connectRetired Intelligence officer Vladimir Putin was working at the St Petersburg State University, when local Mayor Anatoly Sobchak invited him to become deputy mayor in-charge of foreign trade locals recall Putin, a fluent German speaker, used to go to receptions hosted only by consulates of Germany and India, because he was to encourage investments from Germans and wisely utilise Rupee debt repayment had developed very friendly relations with the then Indian Consul Dr Rameshchandra and developed a taste for Indian cuisine. In a public event in 1996, he clearly declared: "Those sitting in the Kremlin do not realise India's importance, we should invest rupee debt repayment funds for joint hi-tech projects."Shortly after this speech in the course of fresh elections, his patron Anatoly Sobchak, lost his job and Putin was invited for a job in the Kremlin was a period of political and economic turmoil in the Russian capital, incumbent Boris Yeltsin was getting weaker and rival oligarchs were indulging in infighting and getting richer by plundering the riches of the defunct Soviet empire. President Yeltsin appointed Putin as the director of Federal Security Service - FSB - equivalent to the US the backdrop of growing Chechen militancy and financial default of 1998, Yeltsin appointed several prime ministers and finally in September 1999 Putin was appointed head of the cabinet before his appointment as the caretaker president on New Year eve in his election, Putin visited India at the invitation of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and the two leaders signed a strategic partnership treaty, which will also complete a quarter century this his memories of Putin's first official visit to India, former Chief of the International Department of the Russian Defence Ministry, Lt Gen (rtd) Leonid Ivashov told PTI: "On the way to Delhi, I told President Putin that he can develop relations with different countries but India is a special case and should always be on Russia's radar."Gen Ivashov recalls that many years later after his retirement, he was at a conference attended by Putin: "The President walked up to me and said, "I have not forgotten your advice about India."
New York Times
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Tim Mohr, DJ and German Translator Who Ghostwrote Paul Stanley's Memoir, Dies at 55
Tim Mohr, an American who worked as a disc jockey and freelance writer in Berlin in the 1990s, diving deep into the city's fervent post-Communist underground, before using his experiences to turn out sensitive, award-winning English translations of works by up-and-coming German writers, died on March 31 at his home in Brooklyn. He was 55. His wife, Erin Clarke, said the cause was pancreatic cancer. Mr. Mohr arrived in Germany in 1992 with a yearlong grant to teach English. He did not speak a word of German, so the program sent him to Berlin, a melting pot of cultures where English was often the second language. He stayed for six years. By day, he worked as a journalist for local English-language magazines, including the Berlin edition of Time Out; at night, he was a D.J. in the city's ever-expanding club scene. He later remarked that his time spent traveling among Berlin's many underground subcultures gave him a thorough education in a form of street German that set him up to work as a translator. One of his first major translation projects, in 2008, was 'Feuchtgebiete' ('Wetlands'), a sexually explicit coming-of-age novel by Charlotte Roche packed with raunchy, idiomatic slang that only someone with Mr. Mohr's background could render in English. 'I read the book for the eventual U.S. publisher when they were considering buying the rights,' he told The Financial Times in 2012. 'And I said to the editor, 'You know, you'll be hard pressed to find an academic translator who is as familiar with terminology related to anal sex as a former Berlin club D.J. is.'' Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
South China Morning Post
28-03-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
‘Goofy': declassified 1994 files show how world powers doubted North Korea's Kim Jong-il
Newly declassified diplomatic files from Seoul have revealed that major world powers were deeply concerned about North Korean leader Kim Il-sung's succession plan after his sudden death in 1994, with one US diplomat calling his heir Kim Jong-il 'goofy' and a Russian expert predicting he would lose control of the country within two years. Advertisement The documents, released by South Korea 's Foreign Ministry on Friday, detail how officials worldwide rushed to interpret Kim Il-sung's demise and assess his son's ability to govern. Walter Mondale, a former US vice-president who was serving as ambassador to Japan at the time, was quoted in the files as saying: '[Kim Jong-il] seems a bit goofy and childish, and not very good as a leader.' The files show that experts from Russia, which was distancing itself from Pyongyang at the time as it navigated post-Communist reforms, also expressed doubts over the younger Kim's ability to rule North Korea. North Korea's then-leader Kim Il-sung (L) and his son Kim Jong-il (R) inspecting a soccer ground in Pyongyang in 1992. Photo: AFP 'After about six months of Kim Jong-il's regime, the military will begin to intervene in politics in earnest,' a Russian scholar with experience of working in Pyongyang was quoted as saying.
