This morning, the Kremlin assured that it “does not know well” this surprise candidate: “We cannot say that we know well the points of view of this candidate with regard to relations with our country”, he told the press. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Presidential election in Romania: the Kremlin assures that it “does not know well” the surprise pro-Russian candidate
Famous on TikTok
In recent days, Calin Georgescu has been talked about a lot on TikTok, a network where he is followed by more than 270,000 people. He can be seen criticizing the United States and the Western alliance. He attacks, for example, the anti-missile shield installed by NATO in a town in the south of the country: “The shield has nothing to do with defense. If anything, it led us into conflict we didn’t need. The shield itself is part of the politics of confrontation. The shield is not a matter of peace, for it is presented by those who fired cannon at the various gates“, reports Le Figaro. TikTok is a way for him to avoid speaking in traditional media. This social network allowed him to get people talking about him and thus gather 100,000 signatures to validate his candidacy for the The presidential election has since decided to remove the videos and publications in his favor a few days ago, saying that they “did not contain the regulatory identification code“.
Agricultural engineer
Although he is now known on TikTok, the candidate began his career in the agricultural field. A graduate of the “Nicolae Bălcescu” Agronomic Institute, he headed the national sustainable development center for 11 years. Between 1993 and 1996, he directed an environmental NGO, Tineretului Ecologist din România. He then became secretary general of the Ministry of the Environment.
His international career includes various roles at the United Nations: he was Special Rapporteur on the human rights implications of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous products and wastes (2010-2012), President of the European Center of Support to the Club of Rome (2013-2015) and Executive Director of the United Nations Global Sustainability Index Institute (2015-2016). Its links with the world of agronomy are not insignificant. Calin Georgescu was born in 1962, to a father who was a cavalry officer and agronomist and a mother who was secretary to the Minister of Agriculture.
Electoral earthquake in Romania: a pro-Russian candidate that no one expected creates a surprise in the presidential election
Proposed as Prime Minister in 2010
The far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) party has proposed Calin Georgescu for the post of Prime Minister on several occasions. The party's founder George Simion supported him and even offered him the position of honorary president of his party. However in 2022, Calin Georgescu describes Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, a far-right Romanian politician, fascist, anti-communist and anti-Semitic, during the interwar period, as a “hero”: “Everyone has done good things and not so good things. History has been mystified.” The relationship between Calin Georgescu and George Simion then deteriorates.
The second round of the presidential election will take place on December 8. Following his first round score, Calin Georgescu said: “Tonight the Romanian people cried out for peace. And he shouted very loudly, extremely loudly“.
