Romanian Prime Minister Resigns After Far-Right Victory

Politics in Romania have taken a sharp and unexpected turn.

The country now finds itself in a state of confusion after the prime minister announced his resignation, according to Digi24.

This comes right after a far-right candidate scored a huge victory in the first round of the presidential election.

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Monday that he would step down.

His decision followed the election results from Sunday, where George Simion won by a large margin.

Simion is the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR).

An interim prime minister is expected to be named Tuesday morning.

That’s what Romanian media reported, citing information from the president’s office.

Ciolacu had been in office since 2023. He led the center-left Social Democratic Party, known as PSD.

The party’s own presidential candidate, Crin Antonescu, only came in third in the vote. This was a major blow to Romania’s traditional political forces.

The second round of the election is scheduled for May 18. It will be a contest between George Simion and Nicușor Dan, the independent mayor of Bucharest.

This means the two candidates left standing do not represent Romania’s long-standing major parties.

Ciolacu had also tried to run for president before. That election was canceled last year.

During that campaign, he received criticism for traveling in luxury private jets. When the race was scrapped, he stayed in power as prime minister.

Now, with his party losing influence and support, he’s leaving the role.

In a recent interview, George Simion had said that the government would collapse if the old parties failed again.

He had also voiced support for Călin Georgescu, who had won a previous election that was later annulled.

Romania now faces a period of uncertainty. Long-trusted political institutions are being pushed aside.

Voters seem to be looking for something very different. What comes next is hard to predict.