A pernicious political crisis was ignited in Romania by the Biden administration in early December when Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted “large-scale and well-funded” Russian interference was to blame for the unexpected victory of a distinctly Trump-like presidential candidate, Călin Georgescu, in the first round of Romania’s presidential election. (READ MORE: Romania’s Trump Explained: Rejecting ‘Forever Wars’ and Woke Politics)
In a bewildering act of slavish fealty, Bucharest promptly canceled the election’s final round, scheduled for Dec. 8, already underway in polling stations worldwide — despite assurance from the national authority overseeing cybersecurity that the election’s first round was clean.
It was an unprecedented and patently undemocratic move, affirmed by an unpopular incumbent, President Klaus Iohannis, who supported the decision with “declassified” documents alleging manipulation by a “state actor” via TikTok. (Iohannis has held office since 2014. The Romanian constitution says his mandate can only be extended beyond two five-year terms, by law, in cases of war or disaster.)
As no evidence of Russian meddling emerged, Iohannis warned reporters in Brussels, that it’s, ummm, elusive: “Don’t imagine these attacks are signed ‘With love, from the East.’ No, they are very hard to document.”
Russia–Russia!
By Dec. 20, with zero evidence of Russian interference, officials from the National Agency for Fiscal Administration, charged with investigating possible electoral fraud, began leaking what they did find: evidence that the main entity paying hundreds of thousands of euros to about 100 TikTok influencers to promote Georgescu’s platform was … the National Liberal Party (PNL), the sitting president’s political party. Romania’s version of Snoop even unveiled the social marketing firm that wrote scripts for the influencers — nothing odd for these channels or the business of campaigns.
The scheme was supposedly hatched to draw conservative voters to Georgescu away from another sovereigntist and better-funded conservative candidate, George Simion, in order to facilitate the PNL candidate’s entry into the second round. Simion, who heads the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) and opposes what he calls a coup d’état, explains the tactic in English (18:20-20:45) to X mega host Mario Nawfal.
In fact, close observers of social media trends had already noted in November that influencers normally promoting makeovers or cars were advancing more political messaging. The hashtag identified as benefiting Georgescu was #echilibrusiverticalitate, meaning balance and verticality (standing tall), hardly an incendiary phrase.
Yet, the U.S. ambassador to Romania kept advancing the Russian interference narrative even after news circulated of the PNL TikTok tactics.
Asked by a TV reporter, “How do you see this complicated moment for Romania, your thoughts on the Romanian election?” Ambassador Kathleen Kavalec ineloquently responded (following the transcript exactly), “Uh, yeah, well we, uh, of course, uh, along with everyone else, uh, we were concerned, uh, by the information that came out by the efforts of, uh, Russia, uh, to have a malign influence on the election and to affect the outcome and of course, um, no one should interfere with uh Romanian elections. Uh, uh, Romanian democracy should be protected. Uh, we, uh, have come out in support of all the efforts uh to get to the bottom of what happened.” (READ MORE: Biden’s Last Gasp Subverted Romania’s Democracy)
More smoothly a day later, speaking in a Bucharest TV studio, outgoing chair of the NATO military committee, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer warned viewers, “What we see, across the alliance as a whole, more and more Russian actions, things like airspace violations, disinformation, cyber-attacks … We have to be very vigilant together.”
Bauer also unfolded an Orwellian theory that NATO must use a “whole of societal approach” to defense, namely, mobilizing families and regular people against the enemy to “move away from the idea that security is for the armed forces and the police. We need to do more as a society, be more resilient.” The admiral was in Bucharest to receive an Aspen Institute Romania prize, awarded by former NATO deputy secretary general and presidential candidate, Mircea Geoană, who got just 6 percent of the vote. Romania’s political establishment and NATO officialdom are very buddy-buddy.
New government; new elections?
Illegitimate President Iohannis swore in a new government on Dec. 23, comprising the same political parties that held power, all but two of the same ministers, and the same prime minister since 2023, Marcel Ciolacu. In the presidential contest, Ciolacu came in third.
The newly reconfigured old guard is running full steam ahead: Romanian media reports the government will set new elections for March 23 (first round), with a runoff on April 6. But why? As Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan, a political independent, puzzled publicly, “We have to clarify why we canceled the November 24 elections. The explanation is far from sufficient.”
Aborting the presidential election is unpopular. A recent national poll found 67 percent oppose the inexplicable decision. The same poll found 63 percent of respondents would have voted for Georgescu if the final election had been held.
Georgescu and his lawyers presented a legal challenge at the Court of Appeals on Dec. 30. Thousands of people gathered in the cold to show support, suggesting growing public anger against the political elite. At the end of the day, Georgescu told the crowd, “I am hopeful we will have a professional court decision and not a political one. I have faith that the court will not kneel before the political apparatus, that it will stay firm and defend democracy and liberty in Romania.” But the decision issued the next day (met by a larger crowd) maintained the annulment, although it did not deal with the merits of the candidate’s case — and it allowed further appeal within five days.
NATO’s Goals
What many increasingly link is Romania’s geographic position bordering Ukraine, both north and at the Black Sea, and NATO’s intention to control Romanian politics to maximize its use of the country.
Ominously titled “How Romania is Preparing for Full Scale War Against Russia,” a YouTube video posted on Dec. 22 explains how “Romania might become NATO’s secret weapon” on behalf of Ukraine. Produced by The Military Show with 1.29 million subscribers, it seems to be a reputable source and it’s getting wide circulation in Romania.
The video reports on the country’s major weapons purchases as part of a plan to turn the country into an aerial powerhouse. New missile batteries and mobile command centers will mean 16 missiles can be launched at once. New construction on what will soon be the biggest air base in Europe will support over 10,000 NATO troops and their families on Ukraine’s border.
Real evidence supports this speculation: Romania’s Ministry of Defense confirms military exercises called Dacian Spring 2025 will soon bring, for the first time, brigade-level French forces to the country. Last October, for two weeks, Dacian Fall 2024 involved some 1,500 soldiers from Belgium, France, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and the United States.
A central tenet of Călin Georgescu’s campaign is the urgent need to build peace. His unexpected popularity demonstrates that the Romanian people don’t support regional conflict.
As billionaire tennis legend, Ion Țiriac put it: “I don’t want war. I don’t need NATO. I don’t need a military base. I don’t need anything [from abroad]. I need to have healthy people.” Țiriac is one of the country’s most influential businessmen. He supports Georgescu.
And back to the election. The Romanian people are the only Eastern Europeans who faced street-level violence and over 1,000 deaths to free themselves from Communism exactly 35 years ago. It’s within living memory. They will not take lightly a false flag subversion of democratic rights.
Augustin Zegrean, former president of the constitutional court that canceled the election on Dec. 6, is an interesting source on what happened. He explains, “They [the judges] were scared. It was rumored that such a huge thing happened, that the country was in danger, and they made that decision. Since then, they keep looking for evidence. In our system things are not done the way they should be done. They first decide, then they look for evidence. But they didn’t find any evidence. There is no evidence.”
No evidence? Regular, brave people will not accept a coup d’état concocted by Biden’s cronies.
READ MORE from Victor Gaetan:
Biden’s Last Gasp Subverted Romania’s Democracy
Romania’s Trump Explained: Rejecting ‘Forever Wars’ and Woke Politics
From Russiagate to Ukrainegate
Victor Gaetan is a senior international correspondent for the National Catholic Register, a contributor to Foreign Affairs magazine, and the author of God’s Diplomats: Pope Francis, Vatican Diplomacy, and America’s Armageddon (Rowan & Littlefield, 2021).
