Elon Musk and David Sacks, both White House advisers, weighed in separately on the election in Eastern Europe.

Defeating populists never signals an easy return to the status quo ante.

BUCHAREST, Romania — The pro-European Union candidate in Romania’s tense presidential runoff has taken a lead in the polls, preliminary electoral data shows, in a closely watched vote against a hard-right nationalist that could determine the geopolitical direction of the NATO member country.

High voter turnout, especially among young people and women, helped Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan win Romania's presidential runoff, defeating the hard-right George Simion. View on euronews

Mr Simion had been the favourite to win but lost to pro-EU candidate Nicusor Dan in the final vote over the weekend.

Romania’s assets staged a relief rally after a centrist candidate defeated his nationalist opponent in the presidential election, with investor focus now shifting to how quickly a new government can fix the state’s finances.

Pro-European Union centrist Nicusor Dan managed an upset in Romania’s presidential election, beating out a hard-right nationalist who had channeled people’s anger at the political establishment to surge in the polls.