Letter from Romania
The Western political class' global attack on freedom and all forms of conventional values has just consumed its first victim among European democracies. The most insolent intervention so far has been the annulment of the election results and their suspension for an indefinite period in Romania by the Romanian Constitutional Court — all in the name of ‘protection of democracy’.
The presidential candidate who won the first circular at the end of November — Călin Georgescu, a conservative Christian and opponent of the war in Ukraine — was unacceptable not only to the westernized elite of this strategical NATO member, but above all to the Biden administration and the European Union. So subtleties were put aside, and the ultimate court of the country simply cancelled the results as shortly as possible to come up with a negligible pretext.
The Constitutional Tribunal's action was announced shortly after Biden's administration openly intimidated Romania with the spectrum of the regulation of cooperation in the areas of security, abroad investment and (for Romanians) the critical issue of mitigating restrictions on travel to the United States.
No 1 believes in the authoritative justification — even those who preach it — which claims that there was a massive Russian “attack” on the Romanian electoral system. The resemblance of this communicative to Hillary Clinton's hoax of Russian fraud in the 2016 American presidential election is amazing and shameless. In addition to unclear innuendos from the Romanian safety services, no evidence was provided that specified interference occurred, that Russia was behind it, that a crucial number of votes had been affected or that this had any impact on the result of the elections. No 1 claims that there was an election fraud or denies that Georgescu's votes were not authentic, nor that Georgescu was certain he would win the second circular of elections. However, these voices now go to the basket, and Romanians, like all Europeans, are said to either vote correctly or not vote at all.
If the Romanian electoral strategy is so susceptible to "Russian attacks" (weakness that has not been proven as well), then the apparent solution is to repair the electoral system, alternatively than giving unelected judicial power over control of another branches of government, effectively ensuring that they will not be elected either.
All this is simply a clear game of Western elite power due to the fact that they panicked after Georgesc's triumph in the first round. Although he was barely mentioned in the news or public opinion polls before the election, Georgescu won with 23 percent of the vote. The candidate favored by media and pollers, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, finished 3rd with 19 percent alternatively than 26 percent predicted by the main polls. In the second round, Georgesc was to compete with another media favorite, Elena Lasconi, variously described as "liberal" and "central-right" (although this ideological recognition is not strong in Romania) and "a fierce supporter of Romania's membership of NATO and the EU, as well as an active supporter of Ukraine". With 2 so distinctly diverse candidates, the second circular was to be a referendum on the war in Ukraine.
Even Lasconi, who full accepts the demonization of “the utmost right” and Georgescu, initially responded sincerely to the annulment of the vote by the court.
'The Romanian State has trampled democracy', she said. “God, the Romanian people, the fact and the law will prevail and punish those who are guilty of destroying our democracy. You lead the country into anarchy."
Nevertheless, she submitted erstwhile her organization considered replacing her as her candidate.
Like most Central and east Europe, Romania is simply a conventional and Christian country, arrogant of its past and folk culture, where even young people with iPhones can only be removed by a generation or 2 from their peasant past. The Romanian population shares the values of another autonomous cultures in Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia, whose governments closely reflect the preferences of their citizens. The initiatives of globalists and the Western ideology of the "awakened" (woke) have almost zero influence, but for a tiny western elite in government, judiciary, media (including polling companies), NGOs and universities. Romanians, alongside Bulgarians, are the least supporting European war in Ukraine. They besides have the lowest COVID vaccination rate in Europe.
So far, Romanians have not spoken openly politically about their opposition to Western ideological narratives. Many seem to be reconciled with the ‘Syndrom of Schweik’, which inactive touches a large part of the region: the trend so named in honor of Jaroslav Hašek's fresh ‘The Adventures of a Good Warrior of Schweik’, which consists of the fact that small, weak nations with powerful neighbours refrain from openly opposing power, no substance how despotic or pointless, and alternatively like to keep their heads low, while secretly uncovering passive ways to evade and resist.
The party, which usually represented the Romanian 'outright', the Alliance for the Romanian Union (AUR), abruptly entered the political scene in 2020 with awesome election results, thanks to opposition to COVID quarantine and vaccines, but then wasted its recently acquired popularity by shyness in opposing the war in Ukraine. 1 organization typical told me at first that AUR was afraid that it would be identified as “pro-Russian”. AUR's shyness clearly shows that the 2024 election was primarily about the war in Ukraine, otherwise voters would not vote for the AUR candidate, Georgescu.
AUR stripped Georgescu of his function in the organization erstwhile he became besides open to war. He called for the Ukrainian Government to complete its assistance and expressed doubts about NATO's credibility in defending its associate States. He said the consequence of the election shows that the Romanians "called for peace".
Even AUR was amazed by Georgescu's success. Under the leadership of Simion, AUR advocates a peculiar nationalism that promotes unification with Romanian-speaking (but partially russified) The Republic of Moldova, a pointless agenda which no country wishes for, and serious people perceive it as improbable and unwanted. AUR besides distanced itself from the political heterodocs of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, thus reflecting long-term friction due to the Hungarian number in Transylvania. On the contrary, Georgescu expresses his admiration for Orbán and says nothing about the re-establishment of the "greater Romania" of the interwar years. At the moment, AUR supports Georgesc's candidacy and is loudly criticizing the cancellation of election results.
This earlier deficiency of electoral rights explains how quiet but sincere Georgescu was able to build support so rapidly among traditionalists. any see this and the skillful usage of TikTok by his supporters as evidence of Russian ‘interference’, although again, nothing has been proven. Contrary to Georgesc's media narrations, he did not “show up out of nowhere”. He was deliberately ignored by media and polling companies. Inscop's survey included him as "other" in October with little than 0.4 percent support. Earlier in November, he placed him in sixth place with 5.4 percent of the vote.
In addition to opposition to Ukraine and COVID, his expressed concern about the preservation of Romanian land and its agricultural culture is consistent with the rooted Romanian values and refers to peasant parties that flourished throughout interwar east Europe (for Romania, for its Golden Age) before being crushed by communists and fascists. However, Georgescu, a erstwhile UN official, expresses his agrarian populism in the peculiar rhetoric of fresh Age, which combines an eclectic set of views. This collection, regardless of its peculiarity and its "extremely right-wing" nationalism contains neither xenophobia, militantism, racism nor authoritarianism.
To date, Romania's low global profile has been reinforced by president Klaus Iohannis, an obedient servant of NATO and the European Union, who reliably supports the Ukrainian government in accordance with instructions received from Washington and Brussels, but who besides avoids taking public positions on war or anything else. Being the epitome of today's affluent European politicians who despise their own nation erstwhile they prosecute intrepid jobs in Brussels, he humiliated himself in the eyes of many Romanians at the beginning of this year, through open—and unsuccessful—applying for the position of NATO's Secretary-General. In the 2024 election, the National-Liberal organization (PNL) candidate Iohannisa obtained little than 9 percent of the vote.
Iohannis full supports the cancellation of the elections, which is not amazing as this allows him to stay in power for an indefinite period after the end of his mandate — as does his counterpart in neighboring Ukraine, Vladimir Zelenski. any lawyers question his constitutional powers to do so — courts besides — but his decision cannot be revoked.
Equally striking is the fact that Georgescu received an awesome 43 percent of the vote among the crucial Romanian diaspora. The candidates of the "main stream" fiercely competed for diaspora voices due to the fact that it is numerous, young, wealthy, educated and politically conscious. It was incorrect to presume that diaspora was besides left-liberal. Young Romanians emigrate under economical pressure, but many stay patriots and would like to return and aid rebuild their homeland, which has immense untapped possible in natural and human resources. This hope is thwarted by corruption over which the ruling socialists (PSD) and the PNL lead.
The last time the diaspora mobilized politically a fewer years ago, erstwhile a hyperfeminist Norwegian kid protection gendarmerie seized the children of a Romanian couple for “abuse” related to raising them as Christians. All 5 children were put up for adoption in separate homes. Romanians abroad accumulated so determined protests in Norwegian embassies around the planet that they managed to bring all their children back to their parents.
What is significant, Romania does not truly have a left. The PSD, which replaced the Communist organization of the erstwhile government and dominated Romanian politics since the collapse of the regime, has been socially average and even conservative, showing small interest in the ideology of the "awaken" or "LGBTQ+". They stay a organization of older traditionalists in any regions, although it was at their expense that AUR emerged. Like Iohannis, the dual PSD and PNL support the cancellation of Romanian votes, thus giving themselves a second chance to fight in the elections they lost the first time. In an apparent conflict of interest, they can even decide erstwhile (or possibly even at all) elections will take place, which (as British prime ministers know) gives a immense advantage.
The Constitutional Court may additionally put its fingers on the line, prohibiting Georgesc from taking off again. Prior to the election, he had already banned another candidate from the "cross-right", Diana Iovanovici-Șoșoacă, under another but equally improbable pretext that set waves of outrage far beyond the community of her supporters. As could be expected, an investigation into Georgesc crime was initiated, in accordance with the manual of American, French and another corrupt left-wing prosecutors. The police did a search in his supporters' homes.
The European Union, which has been ostentatically promoting "governments of law" erstwhile exerting force on Poland and Hungary to adapt its immigration practices (over which the EU has no jurisdiction), has retained complete silence on the invalidated results of the elections and methods of the police state, with the exception of the alleged veracity of "suspects" of collusion with Russia. Those who claim that "rules of law" actually mean the regulation of law of lawyers feel justified that democracy can be suspended by a judicial decision with the consent of the EU, which allegedly promotes "human rights".
So far, there have been no mass protests against cancellation, although the petition, which allegedly counts a million signatures, has been rapidly spread.
Georgesc's appearance on the political phase occurs erstwhile tensions between Russia and the West scope an unprecedented level, surpassing even the cold war.
Under the unresponsible regulation of Iohannis and the harassed AUR, Romania was clearly ignored in debates about a war so near, as the remains of drones regularly fall to Romanian soil, and Russia declared that NATO bases in Romania, supplying war, are an honest mark of the Russian attack. Nevertheless, if nothing else, Georgescu gave the Romanians a voice. The territory of Romania is crucial for supplying Ukraine and the president of Romania has crucial powers in abroad and safety policy. Georgesc's choice and reduced Romania's support for the war would further strain Biden's administration's efforts to prolong (or even tighten) it after Trump's inauguration and close its administration in open military commitments.
Apart from Ukraine itself, Romania is the first European country where Western powers, whose goal is to fuel and sustain war and enforce ideological orthodoxy, do not satisfy themselves with a small censorship, but show that they are ready to erase democracy.
Chronicles Magazine
Stephan Marshall
Stephan Marshall is simply a pseudonym of a scientist, historian and political scientist surviving in Romania.
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Supporters of the right-wing organization Alliance for Romanian Unity (AUR) hold posters with an image of the German origin of Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, in black and red, with the inscription “Iohannis rather – Romania belongs to Romanians, not to dictators” - Before the closed electoral station in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, 8 December 2024.
