'Between a mathematician and a Trump-loving hooligan': Romania's stark presidential choice

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

63% : EU membership had brought significant economic benefits since 2007, Pîrvulescu said; GDP per capita was greater than Hungary, Greece and Portugal.
48% : But he is an outspoken Trump fan, has compared the EU to the USSR, admires Viktor Orbàn - whom he has described as "a model" - and, like Hungary's illiberal prime minister, he opposes aid to Ukraine.
41% : Simion has been banned from neighbouring Moldova for calling for its reintegration into Romania, and from Ukraine - part of which was, before 1940, also Romanian - for "systematic anti-Ukrainian activities ... violating state sovereignty and territorial integrity".
40% : In an already heavily indebted country with a near-junk credit rating and the highest budget deficit in the EU, his economic policies - nationalising utilities, slashing public-sector employment - and unpredictability have seriously spooked markets.
34% : But, noted Pîrvulescu, the dean of the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Romania's long history of far-right and fascist movements is also a factor.

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