By Dr Daniel Brett, Lecturer in Social and Political Science, UCL SSEES

The first round of the Romanian elections has produced something of a surprising result. The victory by the little known, party-less extreme far right candidate Calin Georgescu has caused a great deal of shock among some Romanians and commentators. However, the result is less surprising than we might think given Romanian politics over the last five years. That the election was won by a member of the far right is unsurprising, that it was Georgescu rather than the more well known AUR (Alliance for the Union of Romanians) leader George Simion is surprising.

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