Contrary to the predictions given to Călin Georgescu about 2% of support, the politician won 10 times more votes, mostly due to the offensive on social media, which gained momentum a fewer days before the vote. In highly popular recordings on TikTok he called for halting assistance to Ukraine, and even questioned Romania's membership of NATO. Its goal is simply a self-sufficient country in all possible field, little integrated with current allies.
In the second round, Georgesc will face a candidate who is in many respects his opposite. Elena Lasconi represents the centreright, liberal in moral matters and belonging to the most pro-EU forces in Romania. Now her political camp is talking about an existential threat to the country and calls for the defence of democracy, but fewer expected Lasconi to be liable for this task.
Favorite Disasters
Pre-election polls for certain participated in Marcel Ciolac's second circular of presidential elections. The President-in-Office of the Prime Minister has for 4 years led the Social Democratic organization (PSD), which is so different from the background of European partners that it occupies alternatively conservative positions in world-view issues, opposing at least LGBT rights. Ciolac itself is sometimes referred to as a left-wing nationalist and accuses of authoritarian strings, inspired by the politics of neighboring Hungary.
It besides seemed for a long time that the prime minister's main rival would be a politician from the same environment, namely Mircea Geoană, erstwhile PSD leader and her presidential candidate in 2009. Then he lost by a hair and reinforced by global experience (until late he was the deputy chief of NATO) and the support of a number of NGOs hoped to improve the outcome, but after a slow run he fell out of the group of favorites.
He was replaced by George Simion, representing the far right Alliance for Romanian Unity (AUR). Its main demands include joining Moldova to Romania, and at the same time to defend the nation against “ sex ideology”, migrants, secularism, etc. In the global arena, Romanian nationalists have allied themselves with PiS and Orbán, acting as 1 of the most extremist ECR associate parties in the Euro-Parliament.
The increase in Simion's popularity pointed to the current social sentiments, but unexpectedly his place in the second circular was taken by another candidate of the utmost right, in the past repeatedly proposed by AUR for the position of Prime Minister as an "expert" candidate. Călin Georgescu won 23 percent of the vote, while Lasconi received 19% of the voter support, somewhat ahead of Prime Minister Ciolac. Simion landed fourth, Geoană was far behind.
Anti-Western phrase?
Winning in the first circular of Georgescu's vote never held elected office, alternatively he led a career in public and global institutions. Among another things, he acted in UN bodies, being a peculiar rapporteur to the advanced Commissioner for Human Rights for respective years and serving as an expert in agriculture and sustainable development.
Such a CV would not announce a political career at the side of the far right or the spread of conspiracy theories, yet Georgescu was celebrated for, for example, criticism of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic or questioning the existence of climate change. He besides does not hide his scepticism towards the West, accusing the EU of proposing Romanian wealth, and NATO of escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. The existence of an American rocket shield in Romania considers national shame, while Putin praises as a man loving his country, explaining to his fellow countrymen that their country would benefit from a small "Russian WisdomIt’s okay. ”
The West has even more origin for concern that Romania has so far seemed to be 1 of the most certain points of global alliances. The government and the majority of the opposition are pro-European parties, and the extremist AUR is, indeed, criticizing the EU and having doubts about Ukraine's assistance, but does not ask to leave the Union or the North Atlantic Pact. president Klaus Iohannis was 1 of the main favorites to take the position of NATO chief before choosing Mark Rutte's position. However, the times of being a native primate may end.
In the second circular liberalism versus nationalism
By getting to the overtime, Georgescu eased the transmission somewhat in the hope of attracting more average voters, disavoiding any of the most controversial opinions. However, he did not quit on calls for a "peaceful" policy, in practice, which means to respond to Russian demands. Nor will he retreat from his views on past – he calls the Holocaust allies of the 3rd Reich, specified as dictator Ion Antonescu, the national heroes of Romania.
With the ultranationalist fighting Elena Lasconi, erstwhile war reporter and tv presenter, exhibited by a block of opposition centre-right parties. It proposes a completely different imagination of abroad policy, focusing on closer cooperation with European partners and declaring further support to Ukraine. On the another hand, the 2 counter-candidates combine an aversion to the ruling PSD-PNL coalition, which is accused of corrupting and abuse of power.
The defeat of the ruling camp is best shown by the fact that although it represents (roughly) pro-Western social conservativeism, the second circular faced a dilemma or support an anti-Western nationalist or progressive economical liberal. The centre-right PNL rapidly chose the latter, while shocked by the defeat (for the first time in 30 years it will not exposure the candidate in overtime) The PSD has inactive not announced its decision at this point, delaying its adoption of the parliamentary elections scheduled for Sunday 1 December, between the 2 rounds of the presidential election.
It is certain that social democrats will join them internally – after the defeat, Prime Minister Ciolac announced that he would resign from leadership positions in the state and the party, regardless of the result of the next vote. It is hard to foretell how much the extremist right-wing return of Romania will be confirmed in Parliament. Georgescu has no organization and although AUR should benefit from this, it is possible to keep the majority of PSD-PNL. In specified a case, Romania would have waited respective years for a government conflict with the president or the President, regardless of who would take up this function after 8 December.
