Would a victory for Călin Georgescu threaten Romania’s support for Ukraine?

ADVERTISEMENT

An anti-NATO and pro-Russian candidate created a surprise in Romania by coming first in the first round of the presidential election on Sunday.

Călin Georgescu has become known in recent months on social networks – mainly on TikTok – with a campaign focused on the sovereignty of Romania.

The electoral success of this nationalist candidate created a real shock wave in the Romanian political scene, the country being one of Ukraine’s main supporters since the start of the Russian invasion.

But his pro-Russian rhetoric would not be the only reason for his good result in the first round of the presidential election.

“We can put his success down to his anti-establishment slogans and the frustrations of the Romanian population with the old guard”says Doru Frantescu, CEO of EUMatrix.

Călin Georgescu also managed to attract Romanian voters on economic issues.

“There’s a lot of talk about the economy and inflation, the difficult situation in Romania, and also his promise to make peace at all costs. We don’t know what that means exactly, but those are his main political points”explains Nicolae Stefanuta, Romanian MEP from the Greens.

A crucial country for NATO in Europe

Traditionally pro-EU and pro-NATO, Romania is a pillar of the eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliancehosting multinational military units as well as a ballistic missile defense system at the Deveselu base.

Romania shares a border of more than 650 kilometers with Ukraine and its eastern side on the Black Sea is less than 250 kilometers from the Crimean peninsula, controlled by Russia since 2014.

But according to Doru Frantescu, a victory for Calin Georgescu in the second round would not fundamentally change Romania’s position on the European scene.

“We cannot expect radical change even in this scenario”he says. “A strong majority of Romanians still support the EU and NATO and Călin Georgescu simply could not go against this majority”.

“If the presence of NATO arouses a certain discontent in Romania, it is because the Atlantic Alliance has not sufficiently supported Ukraine according to the population”.

Securing NATO access to the Black Sea

Romania also plays an important economic role for Ukraine by ensuring the transit of grain through its ports since the start of the Russian invasion.

“We are securing NATO’s gates on the Black Sea, which has long been considered a Russian sea and should not be perceived as such”says MEP Nicolae Stefanuta. “It’s a sea where Crimea, Turkey and Russia are located”.

Calin Georgescu will appear in the second round against Elena Lasconi, also surprise winner of the first round, who strongly supports Romania’s key role in NATO and the EU.

ADVERTISEMENT

The second round of the presidential election will take place on December 8 in Romania.