NICUSOR DAN’S victory in Romania’s presidential election on May 18th afforded the country’s liberals a rare moment of joy. Mr Dan, the mayor of Bucharest, is a French-trained mathematician known for fighting corruption. His rival, George Simion, a MAGA-friendly nationalist, had been favoured to win after taking 41% of the vote in the election’s first round to Mr Dan’s 21%. Mr Simion had cosied up to Hungary’s Viktor Orban; denounced Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission; and pledged to end aid to Ukraine. Romania seemed poised to join the club of countries that are driving a populist wedge into the European Union.