Romania: who is Călin Georgescu, the anti-system and pro-Russian candidate who came first in the first round of the presidential election?

A mini earthquake. Given the big favorite in the presidential election in Romania, the current Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu will ultimately not see the second round. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) candidate finished in third position in the first round (19.15%). He was beaten by a breath and a few thousand ballots by Elena Lasconi (USR, 19.17%).

Călin Georgescu – an independent far-right candidate – came out on top, with a solid score of 22.94%. The 62-year-old man therefore finds himself in a favorable vote, especially since the other far-right representative, George Simion (AUR) totaled 13.87% of the votes cast. Suffice it to say that, in a few days, on December 8, Romania could make a 180-degree turn politically.

An anti-system candidate… really?

Not fond of the big media, Călin Georgescu carried out most of his campaign on social networks, and in particular on TikTok, where he has more than 3.4 million subscribers. Some of his videos and short clips have gone extremely viral, allowing him to quickly gain popularity among younger people.

But it is above all with his label as an anti-system candidate that he was able to make a difference, taking advantage of latent discontent within this Eastern European country of 19 million inhabitants. Its leadership position can be analyzed as a “protest or revolt against the establishment”, the established political class, confirms political consultant Cristian Andrei to AFP. “The main political parties have lost contact with ordinary Romanians”he says. “There are no strong candidates or leaders… there are weak candidates, weak leaders, and the parties in general are quite disconnected from each other”he adds, very critically.

However, the person concerned is not completely foreign to politics. After studying at the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Bucharest and at the city's National Defense College, he held positions in the Ministry of the Environment, nationally, and in the within the national committee of the United Nations Environment Program. Călin Georgescu was even proposed twice for the post of prime minister by his former party, the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR).

He was finally excluded from this same formation due to sulphurous remarks concerning Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (founder of the fascist organization of the Iron Guard) and Ion Antonescu (who led Romania, collaborating with Nazi Germany, between 1940 and 1944). “They all did good deeds, and others not so good. I cannot have any opinions on the martyrs”he declared in particular.

The war in Ukraine, “it’s none of our business”

As for his program, it is difficult to find as such. He has no program, according to Cristian Andrei. The candidate therefore stood out for positions which are “beyond normal speech” on several major issues. The most important of these being its undisguised hostility regarding support for Ukraine, a country with which Romania shares a common border. “We should be observers (of this conflict). We should not be involved, it is not our business”he assured. And he did it again on Sunday, after the polling stations closed. “Tonight, the Romanian people shouted for peace. And they shouted very loudly, extremely loudly”he insisted.

A notable feature is that the sixty-year-old also claims to be pro-Russian and pro-Putin. In an interview given in 2022, for example, he described the master of the Kremlin as one of the few true leaders in the world. Likewise, he does not hide a certain hostility to NATO even though Romania is one of the alliance's forward bases in the region, housing a contingent of 5,000 men. Like the Russian president, he also describes the installation of the NATO anti-missile shield on Romanian territory as a confrontational measure, rather than a peaceful one.

Among his other strong themes, Călin Georgescu wants to strengthen support for Romanian farmers and initiate the reduction of Bucharest's dependence on energy and food. He was also noted for his skepticism about vaccines during the Covid-19 crisis. “I believe in my immunity. Science does not involve life, cannot grasp it and cannot create it. I am responsible for my own decision”, he said at the time.

• Read also

  Romania: a pro-Russian candidate creates a surprise by coming first in the first round of the presidential election

In the event of victory on December 8, the far-right candidate would mark the political history of his country, Romania having, since its emancipation from the USSR, resisted nationalist sirens, unlike some of its neighbors, such as Hungary or Slovakia.