Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan’s decision to attend a string of debates last week shunned by his hard-right rival appeared to pay off on Sunday when the pro-European Union centrist emerged victorious in the country’s presidential run-off election.

Analysts said Dan’s earnestness while sitting across an empty chair where George Simion should have sat is in large part what convinced Romanians to show up to the polls in the greatest turnout in 25 years.

“While Dan was driven, open and anti-populist, Simion ran the worst possible campaign by … refusing dialogue, and radicalizing voters,” said Sergiu Miscoiu, a political science professor at Babes-Bolyai University.

The 55-year-old centrist, who has pledged to clamp down on corruption, is staunchly in favor of Romania’s membership in the EU and NATO, and has said his country’s support for Ukraine is vital for its own security against a growing Russian threat.