A series of opposition protests… Supporter split phenomenon
Far-right candidate in Romanian presidential election final: “We will not withdraw from NATO or EU”
A series of opposition protests… Supporter split phenomenon
(Rome = Yonhap News) Correspondent Shin Chang-yong = Far-right independent candidate Cullen Georgescu (62), who surprisingly took first place in the first round of the Romanian presidential election, has withdrawn some of his previous positions, Reuters reported on the 27th (local time). reported.
In a Facebook live broadcast the evening before, he said, “I do not want to withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or the European Union (EU). What I want is not to kneel or accept everything, but to take control.” explained.
He added, “As I said earlier, we must do everything in the national interest.”
He was not even mentioned as a major candidate in the original opinion polls, with an approval rating of around 5%.
However, with an election strategy that actively utilized TikTok, a social media (SNS) mainly used by the younger generation, he caused a surprise by taking first place with 22.94% of the votes in the first round of the presidential election on the 24th.
Reuters analyzed that most of the voters who voted for candidate Georgescu were young voters and overseas Koreans.
He has been criticized several times, including being expelled from the party for calling pro-Nazi leader Ion Antonescu, who was sentenced to death for participating in the massacre of Jews during World War II, a hero.
He also caused controversy by saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “a man who loves his country” and that although he does not support Russia, he feels close to Russian culture.
In a 2021 interview, he criticized the deployment of NATO’s ballistic missile defense system at a U.S. military base in Romania as a “diplomatic shame” and claimed that NATO would not protect Romania if war broke out with Russia.
Concerns are growing in the West as a far-right candidate with pro-Russian and anti-NATO tendencies causes an unexpected sensation in Romania, which borders Ukraine. Opposition protests continued in Romania as well.
The day before, hundreds of protesters gathered in the center of the capital, Bucharest, chanting slogans such as “No Putin, no fear, Europe is our mother” and “Young people should not vote for dictators.” Protests were also held in other major cities.
A split phenomenon among supporters is also appearing. Stefan Mandachi, an influencer and businessman, announced on Facebook the day before that he was sorry for supporting candidate Georgescu without looking into his position because he disliked established political parties.
As public opinion took an unusual turn ahead of the runoff election on the 8th of next month, it is interpreted that candidate Georgescu retreated from his previous controversial position.
Candidate Georgescu took first place in the first round of voting, but fell short of the majority and the gap with Elena Lasconi (19.18%), leader of the center-right opposition Romanian National Salvation Union (USR), who came in second, was not large, so it is difficult to guarantee victory.
Lasconi, who will face off against Gheorgescu in the runoff, puts the fight against corruption as his core pledge. If she is elected, Romania will become the first female president in history.
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Shin Chang-yong
