Romania: Georgescu under investigation
The dispute over the annulled presidential election continues in Romania. Călin Georgescu, the right-wing populist who came first in the cancelled first round, has been detained and questioned. Criminal proceedings launched against him include charges of election campaign irregularities, plans to attack the constitutional order and links to the Wagner Russian mercenary group.
Many awkward questions
The Tages-Anzeiger questions the behaviour of both the Trump administration and the Romanian judiciary:
“There are credible reports that US government representatives are putting pressure on Romania behind closed doors to ensure that Georgescu is allowed to stand again in the new elections in May - which would also be in Putin's interest: Georgescu has called on Nato member Romania to end its support for neighbouring Ukraine. ... At the same time, the Romanian judiciary must face critical questions about its role in the Georgescu case. The conduct of the Constitutional Court, which initially confirmed Georgescu's first-round election victory but then annulled it, appeared somewhat erratic.”
Solid evidence needed
Hotnews puts in:
“What the US leaders - whether Vance, Musk or Trump - post about Romania is not what really matters. The danger lies not in the US's reaction but in the nature of this case. If the evidence against Georgescu is not solid enough, Vance and Musk will have scored a hit. he example of Romania investigating a presidential candidate on the basis of flimsy evidence would be trotted out at every future meeting with EU leaders. 'If this is what European democracy looks like, you have no right to criticise us. You have far bigger problems', Trump's people will say.”
A mesmerising outsider
Georgescu has certain qualities that other candidates lack in the eyes of many Romanians, says Tygodnik Powszechny:
“Compared to most Romanian politicians, Georgescu - well-dressed, well-groomed and speaking beautiful Romanian (in a most mesmerising manner!) - simply seems to represent a new quality. Clearly, for many Romanians the election of a radical candidate who is independent from the dominant groups, perceived as 'disrespectful' and uses nationalist and patriotic rhetoric was an opportunity to express their displeasure with the political system that has been in place for decades.”
A dangerous combination
The Times draws comparisons to shed light on the Georgescu phenomenon:
“If artificial intelligence were charged with combining President Putin's macho nationalism, American conspiracy theories and Robert F Kennedy Jr's bizarre health tips, it might come up with something like Călin Georgescu. When he has not been appearing in videos riding horses or slinging judo opponents over his shoulder, Putin-style, the presidential candidate has found time to write a foreword for the Romanian edition of a book by Kennedy, which criticises Covid vaccines.”
Why not sooner?
The Romanian service of Deutsche Welle is surprised that the allegations are only now being investigated:
“A string of circumstantial evidence suggests that the Romanian law enforcement authorities knew all about the extremist presidential candidate's links to Horațiu Potra's mercenaries. ... Georgescu's ties to Russia were also known. The Romanian secret services knew about everything, including the current charge under investigation by the public prosecutors: that of planning to overturn the constitutional order. In other words, Călin Georgescu is accused of planning a coup d'état. Why the domestic secret services didn't bring this up before the first round of voting was cancelled remains a mystery.”
Romanian state still has antibodies
There is still hope if the immune system of the Romanian state really works, republica.ro comments:
“Over the last few days the Romanian state seems to have woken up. There are signs that it is fighting back. That it has antibodies. And that it is making its decisions based on the law rather than the reactions of Călin Georgescu's supporters. And if this state, which today seems to be taking steps to protect its citizens, does not allow itself to be intimidated in the days to come, then there is still hope for us. Hope that we can return to normality and be able to breathe fresh life into the rule of law. Something which it urgently needs, because in the past two months it had stopped breathing.”
Musk wants to sow chaos here too
Newssite G4Media.ro finds it worrying that Elon Musk described Georgescu's brief detention as "messed up", on X:
“With three posts within the space of a few hours, Elon Musk has made his intention very clear: he wants to stir up the public in Romania, demonise the investigation and cast Călin Georgescu as a victim. He did the same thing in Germany with the far-right AfD, and it worked to some extent. ... There is a great danger that the street protests could escalate and Călin Georgescu could become a martyr. The coming hours and days will be decisive for the Romanian state.”