Georgescu to the Rescue: The Fallacy of Free Speech Suppression

Russian political interference has become a real concern across Europe and the United States as the Kremlin seeks to unseat and undermine democracy in Western capitals. Under Vladimir Putin, the Russian state has used tools from mass media to military force to ensure its chosen candidate wins. One recent example took place in Romania’s presidential election in November 2024. An independent presidential candidate, Cahil Georgescu, stupefied the country by winning the first round of the election. Through social media platforms like TikTok and Facebook, Russia propelled its anti-Ukraine and anti-EU candidate to the front of the running, using over 25,000 recently reactivated accounts on the platform. The Kremlin has meticulously placed its support behind far-right candidates that seek to undermine democracy through supposed cultural reforms. Georgescu found himself rocketed to pole position for the presidential seat but was barred from participation in the election going forward due to Russian media and financial interference. Although he was disqualified due to his Russian sponsors and his hazy membership in neo-fascist groups, Georgescu has denied all wrongdoing.

Mr Georgescu had appealed to Romania’s Constitutional Court to review his ousting by the electoral body, to no avail. Referring to the decision as a “coup d’état,” Georgescu has downplayed his distasteful attributes, such as his admiration of Vladimir Putin and for the Fascist Iron Guard of the 1940s, known as the Legionary Movement. The Iron Guard was a political movement started by Corneliu Codreanu in 1927, and it primarily focused on the idea of a cultural renovation that would sear a national identity into the public consciousness. Replete with antisemitism and Eastern Orthodox identity, the Iron Guard movement has been a pillar memory for many Romanians as the beginning of a real national movement that maintained a ‘Romania first’ stance. This demonstrates that identity is probably the most divisive issue right now in Romania, and Georgescu has been sure to capitalise on this using the propaganda of the Iron Guard for contemporary usage among conservative voters.

Romania, a key NATO member, has long served as a defence against growing hybrid warfare from Russia, as they currently share a border with Western Ukraine. Cyber-attacks from Russia have increased in places like Moldova, Georgia, and, in this case, Romania. It is imperative that the EU follows the re-run, which has just closed and again churned out a seemingly unassailable lead for a far-right candidate, as this could become a growing trend as Washington can no longer be counted on to condemn Russian interference. Another leader in Putin’s pocket, as in the case of Belarus and Georgia, could spell catastrophic changes to the democratic order of the European continent. The Romanian Parliament and Supreme Court have stated that the previous election (late last year) not only spelt out election interference but a real national security threat that could have continued had Mr Georgescu ascended to the presidential office. If Romania hopes to improve upon its democracy and  actively participate with other countries in the EU, it must put its foot down and crush corruption from within - George Simion, another far-right candidate, having received almost twice Georgescu’s first-round 23%, does not bode awfully well.

Due to these internal factors of corruption and authoritarian interference, Romania has not been seeing much foreign investment. As a result, the at-risk poverty rate is sitting at 25% in Romania, which is slightly higher than Europe’s average of 23.5%. While poverty isn’t an extreme issue compared to other countries, there is still a problem of heating, with 13.8% of people not being able to sufficiently heat their homes. It’s also worth mentioning that the country is the fourth highest in Europe for material deprivation. Regrettably, Georgescu and the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (founded by the aforementioned George Simion) have sought to utilise these factors to call for a ‘Romania First’ agenda that comes right out of the Trump MAGA manual. This obviously includes a Eurosceptic view that is being backed by Putin and members of the Trump administration, namely Elon Musk and JD Vance. Musk was quoted saying about the Constitutional Court’s decision, “This guy (The Judge) is a tyrant, not a judge,” following the decision of the Romanian Constitutional Court to annul the first round of the Presidential elections. Once again, the MAGA elite have set their sights on rising far-right nationalist movements that could serve as potential allies as the EU distances itself from the Trump White House.

In pure demagogue fashion, politicians who have no adherence to democracy have made it their personal mission to victimise themselves to their audiences to gain sympathetic ears that will listen to just about anything. In mid-March, it was announced that the second candidate who was annulled from candidacy was another far-right populist, Diana Sosoaca. With her boxing gloves on for the upcoming fight with the system, she was barred from continuing her running due to her pro-Kremlin messages and her vocal antisemitic views. After finding out the news, Sosoaca was quoted on X saying that she was proof that democracy does not exist. It is alarming to see candidates such as Sosaca and Georgescu maintaining a voting base, and they are impassioned enough to start riots against police forces in Bucharest. If the far-right continues to bolster its nativist sentiment and authoritarian stances, it will take more immensely strong decisions by judiciaries to ensure that people like Georgescu are stopped at the gate when they insist they bring their authoritarian friends with them. The Constitutional Court must stand by its decision and keep Romania above the crashing waves of the far right. How far this will be possible, as the ultra-nationalist and crypto-fascist George Simion surges towards a seemingly inevitable victory in just under two weeks time, is now anyone’s guess.

Image: Flickr/AUR Alianta pentru Unirea Românilor

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