A nightmare turn in Romania’s presidential elections

With the victory of Călin Georgescu, Romania enters its darkest possible scenario: a violently anti-Western, pro-Russian, neo-fascist, and anti-Semitic candidate wins the first round of the presidential elections. It’s hard to imagine a greater political disaster. We are living a nightmare.

No one saw this coming—not the press, polling agencies, political parties, nor the renowned Romanian intelligence services that are supposed to protect us from hybrid wars and complex Russian online attacks. On the contrary, they might have irresponsibly inflated his candidacy, calculating that this would pull down George Simion (a far-right populist leader) and spare Romania the shame of the far-right entering the second round. But it didn’t work out that way. The exact opposite happened. It seems their new plaything slipped out of their control.

It wouldn’t be the first time a little monster spun out of control.

Without even remotely approaching the obscene budgets spent by major parties on propaganda, Călin Georgescu humiliated everyone on TikTok, delivering mystical-religious ramblings about the nation, faith, God, peace, and other narratives dear to Moscow. Some noticed him making waves on TikTok; others sensed his dangerous rise in the polls. But the truth is, no one—absolutely no one—imagined he would win the first round.

Unfortunately, the entire international press will now write with shock about a Romania that has suddenly veered off the Western orbit. A country where a candidate without a party, yet favored by Russia, surprisingly won the first round. If you add Georgescu’s 22% to George Simion’s 14%, you get a massive vote for the so-called „sovereignists.” A terrifying prospect.

In reality, they are two far-right candidates, ultra-populists, demagogues, and highly beneficial to Russia through the public narratives they propagate—especially concerning the war in Ukraine.

Romanian democracy is in one of its toughest moments since 1990. This vote throws us into the category of dubious states—“no-go” zones for any serious investor.

From being a haven of political stability, a predictable partner with an unquestionably pro-Western orientation, Romania has become a state that can no longer be fully trusted. From now on, anything is possible in the second round.

The fact that so many voters flocked to a mega-fraud like Georgescu, without a moment’s concern for the emptiness of his rhetoric, without verifying who he is or what this loudmouth wants, points to widespread confusion and a lack of guidance. It’s unclear, for now, whether Russia meddled in Romania’s elections or whether Sunday’s shocking result (November 24) is purely a product of local foolishness.

Illusion peddlers have always found fertile ground in a country like Romania.

Some might say this is a protest vote, expressing exasperation with the worst lineup of candidates Romanian parties have ever fielded. Perhaps it’s disgust, exasperation, or despair—call it what you will.

But the vote for Călin Georgescu—about whom everything can be found with a single Google search—reveals deep ignorance and intellectual laziness in a world where so-called “internet information” has been reduced to watching a few minutes of TikTok clips.

Something fundamental has changed in the way information is consumed and propaganda is conducted. As always, America set the tone: Trump won the elections without giving a single interview to major TV networks, relying solely on social media presence and influencers.