The last decade has seen a wave of far-right parties sweep across the West. Almost everywhere, they have moved from the fringes to the mainstream, even winning national elections. True, Donald Trump’s recent tariffs on almost all other countries have sparked a backlash against MAGA-style politicians, costing them recent elections in Canada and Australia. Yet this doesn’t appear to be the case in Romania, where the far-right candidate George Simion is close to winning the presidential race after scoring over 40 percent in the first round.

Simion and his Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party, once a marginal opposition group, are today part of an international alliance of far-right parties. These forces not only influence each other but actively collaborate in working for political hegemony. In this sense, even a nationalist force cannot be considered in isolation. But, as the tariffs issue shows, we might ask: Do they share the same goals in the long run? Or will different national interests collide, despite their cultural affinities?

Romania’s first round of presidential elections last November ended with a surprise: Simion, along with fellow front-runner Marcel Ciolacu — the incumbent soft-left prime minister — was eliminated, while independent Călin Georgescu, known for his mystical rhetoric and pro-Russia views, came out on top. The Constitutional Court then canceled the results, citing foreign interference, and ordered a new election.