AT A TIME when democratic politics are dominated by battles between liberal cosmopolitans and populist nationalists, Romania’s presidential election on May 18th seemed to come straight from central casting. George Simion of the hard-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), a MAGA-backed rabble-rouser who built his party on resentment of the political establishment, faced off against Nicusor Dan (pictured), a Paris-trained mathematician and mayor of Bucharest, the capital. Mr Simion had won the election’s first round two weeks earlier with 41% of the vote to Mr Dan’s 21%. A win for the Bucharest mayor would reaffirm Romania’s position in the mainstream of the European Union. A win for Mr Simion would add to the ranks of populist leaders who are fracturing the bloc.