Romania has a new president
Romania has a new president, Nicușor Dan, the former mayor of Bucharest.
Daniela Budu, 26.05.2025, 14:00
After six months of political uncertainty and social tensions, Romania has, starting from Monday, May 26, 2025, a new president, the independent Nicușor Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician, winner last year in June of a new term as mayor of Bucharest. It all started with the first round of the presidential election on November 24, 2024, which sent two surprise names to the final that was supposed to take place on December 8, 2024: the former leader of the Save Romania Union (USR), Elena Lasconi, and the pro-Russian independent Călin Georgescu. Then, on December 6, 2024, the Constitutional Court of Romania decided to annul the presidential election due to the flawed electoral process as a result of external interference in favor of the pro-Russian extremist and requested the reorganization of the entire electoral process. The government in Bucharest decided to hold a new presidential election on May 4, 2025, when 11 candidates fought for the supreme office. Among them, Nicușor Dan, who was not given many chances at the time, given that the ultranationalist and populist leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), George Simion, was also supported by Călin Georgescu’s voters, and the coalition made up of the PSD-PNL-UDMR supported Crin Antonescu, the Liberal candidate in the 2009 presidential election.
Nicușor Dan entered the second round on May 18 by a narrow margin given that in the first round he had about 21% of the votes, which was half of George Simion’s percentage. In the second round, however, the former mayor of Bucharest obtained 53.6% of the votes, thanks to a very good turnout, and his opponent 46.4%. And his victory was interpreted as a reaffirmation of Romania’s commitment to democratic and European values. Now, after being inaugurated as President of Romania, Nicușor Dan must begin consultations with the parties to form a new government, which will take the necessary measures first and foremost to reduce the huge budget deficit. Romania had the largest budget deficit in the European Union last year, 9.3%, and the largest fiscal imbalance since the 2009 crisis.
Recently, in an interview for the Financial Times, Nicușor Dan has stated that Romania will have to cut spending by 6 billion Euros this year, and a realistic budget deficit is 7.5% of the Gross Domestic Product. As for the Value Added Tax, he had said since the campaign that it would not be increased. His presidential program, entitled “Honest Romania”, proposes a series of ambitious reforms in areas such as foreign policy, defense, economy, education, health and environment, being aimed at the modernization and sustainable development of the country. In the field of education, his program includes measures to improve the quality of education and reduce school dropout, especially in disadvantaged regions. As regards health, the program aims to modernize the medical infrastructure and ensure equitable access to quality health services for all citizens.
Overall, Nicușor Dan’s economic vision relies on a combination of strategic state intervention in key areas, modernizing public administration, and creating a stable and attractive business climate for investment. Externally, Romania’s new president emphasized the country’s firm commitment to European values and strategic partnerships, including continued support for neighboring Ukraine. (LS)
