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Usually the ones in Spain, Italy, most of them are seasonal workers, so the ones who left the country because of what they consider to be very low socioeconomic conditions for them,
said Oana-Valentina Suciu, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Bucharest
The vote is a clear rejection of the ruling coalition. Both Simion and Dan are seen as ‘anti-system,’ even though they are diametrically opposed politically,
said Oana Lungescu, former chief spokesperson for NATOSimion was the only one who literally visited poor areas in Romania and Romanian communities in the diaspora, so he was the one who apparently paid attention to them — even if actually the solutions that he proposes are completely unrealistic,
Suciu saidHe [Simion] is highly active on the social platforms, especially the ones such as Instagram and TikTok that do not need too much attention, you just scroll and see images and messages,
Suciu saidWhat he proposes to them seems like a very easy solution for their problems,
Suciu saidI don’t know if those in the diaspora understand that through their vote they can destroy this country,
renowned Romanian economist Cristian Păun warned local media MondayBecause of TikTok basically, he kind of exploded during the pandemic … he does lives on TikTok all the time, he films himself every-fucking-where, so he kind of gives off this really kind of genuine persona that he built,
Vlad saidThey were always kind of living in their bubbles in their communities, sending all their money they were making back home and … living fairly lonely lives,
he addedHe is a TikTok product and launched his whole movement on the back of Covid disinformation, among other things,
he saidThey [Romanian expats] always go against the system, irrespective of who the candidates are,
she saidThe vast majority of them, it’s actually people who don’t have such a high level of education, [and] work in really tough, menial jobs … we’re talking about truck drivers, we’re talking about construction workers, people who look after the elderly,
he said
Some of these voters are liberal, some are conservative, some very conservative — and some, particularly the voters of the socialist party, are partly also elderly, less educated, partly also from the rural areas,
he said of the Antonescu voters that Dan now needsI feel there's still hope for us to remain in Europe and to have a pro-Western mindset.... Because I wouldn't want to live in a country where we're forced to turn east,
copywriter Bogdan Daradan, 41, said
This election reflects a clear surge of the conservative and traditional electorate, attracted by a desire to break from traditional parties,
Soare told AFP
We are ready to shape our future,
Simion declared after winning close to 41 percent of the ballots, double that of runner-up DanA difficult second round will come with the isolationist candidate,
he saidWanting to reform the EU does not mean wanting to leave it,
he saidThe best way for this process is to do exactly what (Romanian election authorities) are doing, and that is to talk directly to the people that run those sites,
he said
They probably amplify the noise, but the noise is mostly generated internally,
he saidThis is why we need a strong NATO and we need troops on the ground in Romania, in Poland and in the Baltic states,
he said, although he was against sending further military aid to Ukraine