Romanian Ex-PM Risks Upending Bid to Block Far-Right Candidate

Victor PontaPhotographer: Isa Terli/Anadolu/Getty Images
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A former Romanian prime minister said he’ll enter a contentious presidential race, potentially jeopardizing an effort to unite behind a single candidate and defeat a far-right frontrunner.

Victor Ponta, a one-time leader of the ruling Social Democrats who resigned a decade ago amid public outrage over a nightclub fire, said in an interview that he would campaign as an independent on the Donald Trump-like slogan “Romania first.”