MCC Votes & Seats Podcast – Election insight
Az MCC Politikatudományi Műhelyének beszélgetéssorozatában szakértők és politikusok segítségével azt elemezzük, hogy a különböző európai országokban aktuálisan zajló parlamenti és önkormányzati választásoknak mely szereplők a valódi nyertesei és mi tekinthető igazi győzelemnek a szavazások után.
------------------------------
With the help of local guest experts, in the podcast series of the MCC Center for Political Science, we endeavor to analyze which actors are the real winners of the parliamentary elections taking place throughout Europe, and what exactly can be considered an ultimate victory after the ballot counts.
MCC Votes & Seats Podcast – Election insight
Mathematician vs. Football Hooligan: The clash of Centrism and Nationalism in the Romanian Presidential Election's Rerun
In May 2025, the presidential election in Romania, which was annulled last December, was repeated amid considerable social and political tensions. Mathematician and independent Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan faced former football hooligan George Simion, the leader of the far-right AUR party in the second round.
Our guest expert, Prof. Alexandra A. Iancu claims that the invalidation of the original election consolidated the sovereigntist camp, however, the end result of the re-run showed that the majority of Romanian voters see their country’s future within the Euro-Atlantic cooperation.
The political scientist sees no doubt shifts in party preferences, inasmuch as the historical moderate parties are loosing ground, while anti-system and anti-corruption political formations are becoming more and more popular.
- Can Nicușor Dan’s inauguration put an end to the years-long political instability in the country?
- Will there be a reorganization in the party system of Romania, or the status-quo survives the turmoil?
- What can be said about the voting preferences of the different layers of society?
- Will there be any political gesture towards ethnic Hungarians and Moldovan–Romanian dual citizens, whose votes made Dan’s victory possible?
Among many other thought-provoking issues, these are the topics we addressed in this episode of the Votes and Seats podcast.
- Alexandra A. Iancu
Professor, University of Bucharest
- Bálint L. Tóth
Researcher-lecturer, MCC Center for Political Science
With the help of guest experts and politicians, in the podcast series of MCC’s Centre for Political Science we endeavor to analyze which actors are the real winners of the parliamentary and municipal elections taking place this year in different European countries and what exactly can be considered a real victory after the ballot counts.