(Adnkronos) – Romania “is a free country” whose electors are free to pick their leader, Italy said after far-right eurosceptic and nationalist George Simion won the first round of Romania’s presidential election re-run on Sunday.
“It’s a free country and I always respect the popular vote, but we’ll see how the run-off goes,” Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani stated on Monday.
Tajani was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a sports event organised by his conservative Forza Italia party.
Simion won 41% of ballots on Sunday while Bucharest’s liberal mayor Nicusor Dan came second with 21% of votes. The pair will meet in a run-off on 18 May.
Six months ago, radical outsider Calin Georgescu won Romania’s presidential election, but the polls were annulled over allegations of campaign fraud and Russian interference.
