{"id":2373418,"date":"2024-11-25T19:25:01","date_gmt":"2024-11-26T00:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/leading-romanian-presidential-candidate-spells-trouble-for-nato-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-11-25T19:26:41","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T00:26:41","slug":"leading-romanian-presidential-candidate-spells-trouble-for-nato-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/leading-romanian-presidential-candidate-spells-trouble-for-nato-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading Romanian presidential candidate spells trouble for NATO &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fleading-romanian-presidential-candidate-spells-trouble-for-nato-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2373418&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A significant electoral upset\u200c occurred in Romania where C\u0103lin Georgescu, a controversial right<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wow-elizabeth-warren-jumps-into-the-gamestock-controversy-and-begs-sec-to-investigate-reddit-and-social-media\/\" title=\"Wow! Elizabeth Warren Jumps into the GameStock Controversy and Begs SEC to Investigate Reddit and Social Media\">-wing populist<\/a>\u200c and TikTok star, has emerged as the\u200d leading candidate in the presidential \u200delection with 22.9% \u200bof the\u200d vote. His unexpected\u200b rise, without affiliation to any political \u200cparty and minimal \u2063public engagement, has\u2064 taken the Romanian political scene by \u2063surprise. Known for\u2063 his provocative views, Georgescu has <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">praised historical fascist figures<\/a> and expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has voiced skepticism about NATO and criticized Romania&#8217;s role in supporting Ukraine, claiming the country\u200c should lean on &#8220;Russian wisdom&#8221; for diplomatic guidance. His statements have drawn\u200d parallels with Russian \u2064rhetoric, particularly \u2064regarding Ukraine&#8217;s\u2063 legitimacy as a state. Following his\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-vowed-to-elect-more-women-they-did-just-that\/\" title=\"Republicans Vowed To Elect More Women...They Did Just That\">electoral success<\/a>, Georgescu hinted that the electorate&#8217;s desire for peace influenced his support, as he\u2063 continues to promote a narrative sympathetic to\u2062 Russian interests.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Leading Romanian presidential candidate spells trouble for NATO and Ukraine<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1726328\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A controversial right-wing populist TikTok star is leading in polls to be the next <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/romania\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Romanian\">Romanian<\/a> president, with views that could spell trouble for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nato\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Romanian\">NATO<\/a> and support for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Ukraine\">Ukraine<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Romania witnessed the greatest electoral upset since emerging from communist rule in 1989 on Sunday, when C&#259;lin Georgescu, 62, running without a party, came in first in the first round of elections with 22.9% of the vote. His rise blindsided the entire Romanian political scene, especially as he hadn&rsquo;t participated in any debates, didn&rsquo;t register significantly in opinion polls, and didn&rsquo;t belong to a party, something almost unheard of in Romanian politics.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Calin Georgescu, running as an independent candidate for president, speaks to media after registering his bid in the country&rsquo;s presidential elections, in Bucharest, Romania, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo\/Alexandru Dobre)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Georgescu has expressed several controversial views, especially those involving Romania&rsquo;s history. He described as &ldquo;heroes&rdquo; Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, founder of the syncretic fascist Iron Guard, and Ion Antonescu, leader of Romania during World War II and ally of Nazi Germany.<\/p>\n<p>Particularly notable are his views on NATO, Russia, and Ukraine. In interviews, Georgescu said that Romania wasn&rsquo;t ready to independently handle diplomacy and strategy and should instead rely on &ldquo;Russian wisdom,&rdquo; the <em>Guardian<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2024\/nov\/25\/calin-georgescu-romania-election-hard-right-candidate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"reported\">reported<\/a>. Local media reported that he has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as &ldquo;a man who loves his country&rdquo; and called Ukraine &ldquo;an invented state,&rdquo; a line frequently used by Putin and the Russian state.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with a pro-Russian media outlet in April 2021, he <a href=\"https:\/\/ziaristii.com\/calin-georgescu-aur-la-pandele-tv-promovat-de-sputnik-sansa-romaniei-este-intelepciunea-ruseasca-complexul-militar-industrial-american-este-interesat-sa-impinga-catre-un-conflict\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"said\">said<\/a> that events in Ukraine were being &ldquo;manipulated&rdquo; by the United States military-industrial complex and other Western financial interests.<\/p>\n<p>Georgescu has criticized the establishment of a NATO missile defense system at the Deveselu Military Base, one of Putin&rsquo;s main contentions before the invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>He hinted in a post-election speech that the favorable election results were partly due to his stance on Ukraine aid.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Tonight, the Romanian people cried out for peace. And they shouted very loudly, extremely loudly,&rdquo; he said on Sunday night. &ldquo;We are strong and brave, many of us voted, and even more will do so in the second round.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Despite his statements favorable to Russia and negative to Ukraine, Georgescu has denied that he&rsquo;s explicitly pro-Russia or supports it in its war with Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>As no candidate won more than 50% of the vote, a second round of elections will be held on Dec. 8.<\/p>\n<p>Former journalist Elena Lasconi, running as part of the liberal Save Romania Union, came in second place with 19.2%. She has stressed more support for NATO if elected and is generally <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c9dlw5pq967o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"considered\">considered<\/a> a left-wing figure.<\/p>\n<p>Georgescu has made a number of other controversial statements, including a podcast in 2024 that denied the COVID-19 virus existed, and &ldquo;the only real science is Jesus Christ.&rdquo; He has frequently stressed his Orthodox Christian faith in one of the most religious countries in Europe.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>His campaign was dominated by claims that the U.S. and European Union were exploiting Romania by undercutting its economy, something that could sour relations if he were to be elected.<\/p>\n<p>Romania is situated in a strategically vital position in the current Russia-Ukraine War, bordering Ukraine and the Black Sea.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1726328\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1726328\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Romanian presidential candidate poses risks for NATO, Ukraine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2373419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Calin-Georgescu.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3728,32404,7624,35293,12466],"class_list":["post-2373418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-election","tag-geopolitics","tag-nato","tag-presidential-candidate","tag-romania"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Calin-Georgescu.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2373418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2373418"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2373418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2373425,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2373418\/revisions\/2373425"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2373419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2373418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2373418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2373418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}