BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Media tycoon Dan Diaconescu drives a white Rolls Royce, looks like a used car salesman in his shiny mauve jacket, promises to create thousands of jobs and has emerged as a key player in Romania’s bitterly contested parliamentary election.

The owner of two television stations, Diaconescu’s populist party is running third in Sunday’s vote, according to polls. The gray-haired, multimillionaire talk show host from Romania’s disenfranchised south appears to be tapping into widespread discontent with traditional political parties seen as arrogant, sniping and corrupt.