The prime minister’s decision was a response to the electoral defeat of the coalition’s preferred candidate in Sunday’s first-round contest, in which George Simion of the ultranationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians secured more than 40%.

As Goldman notes, as a result of his outperformance relative to opinion polls in the first round, the probability of Simion winning the second round has risen sharply in betting markets, from 30% probability prior to the vote to 69%, with Dan at 31%.

Whatever his degree of nationalism, Simion is poised to become the third nationalist leading an eastern European country, alongside Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Slovakia’s Robert Fico — that is, unless the leftists once again find a way to bar a popular right-wing candidate from victory.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/nationalist-dominates-first-round-romanian-presidential-election