Back from the brink or driving headlong into the chasm?

The Romanian Presidential elections required three rounds, constitutional court interventions before Bucharest mayor Nicuşor Dan running as an independent candidate defeated Georghe Simion of the extreme right AUR party. Although the result might be viewed as being victory of a democratic Romania over an authoritarian Romania, the course of the election and the subsequent political, economic and social developments have thrown into sharp relief the volatile nature of political life and the potentially precariousness of Romanian democracy. The election has produced a number of questions: The success of the extreme right firstly with Calin Georgescu in the annulled first round, and then Georghe Simion in the re-runs, shows widespread support for authoritarian, extremist nationalism within Romania. The elections were marked by the failure of the PNL and PSD whose candidates failed to reach the second round in either election as well as the emergence of the USR This round table discussion will examine the results of the election, their causes and the consequences for politics and society in Romania and the Romanian diasporas.