Romanian political analysts, sociologists, and cybersecurity experts are still piecing together how Georgescu achieved this feat—and how it managed to catch everyone off guard. Early evaluations suggest he leveraged a network of viral TikTok accounts to spread his message, while also receiving significant backing from religious groups, including members of the Romanian Orthodox Church and Pentecostal communities.
Furthermore, Georgescu's rise can also be attributed to the public's growing fear of war and their disillusionment with the political system, in which many feel unrepresented.
However, the impact of these elections went beyond just the presidential race. In the parliamentary elections held on December 1st, three far-right, Eurosceptic, Russophile, and populist parties made significant gains: AUR (The Alliance for the Union of Romanians), POT (The Party of the Young People, which is supporting Georgescu), and SOS. Together, they secured over 30% of the seats in Parliament.
Meanwhile, the pro-European parties—PSD (Social Democratic Party) with just over 22%, PNL (Liberal Party) with around 14%, and USR (Union to Save Romania) with 12%—managed a fragile victory. If these three parties are unable to form a coalition, the new Parliament could become fragmented and unstable.
The second round of presidential elections next week will determine whether Romania faces not only a Parliament dominated by 30% extremists, but also the possibility of a far-right, conspiracy-driven, pro-Putin, Eurosceptic, anti-NATO, ultra-Orthodox president.
Calin Georgescu’s strong performance in the November 24, 2024, elections may have been unexpected, but his polarizing presence in Romanian politics is nothing new.
For over a decade, he has amplified Kremlin-aligned rhetoric, framing Romania as "Europe’s colony," questioning the country’s NATO membership and the missile shield, advocating for a potential NATO exit, and justifying Russia’s war in Ukraine. His electoral success on November 24 stemmed, in part, from his ability to tap into widespread fears among Romanians about the possibility of the country being drawn into a war.
Despite branding himself as an outsider to the political system, Georgescu has held multiple roles within the Romanian government and served as a UN-affiliated expert on sustainable development, though the specifics of his international roles remain unclear. He has built his public image on rejecting globalism and promoting the use of Romania’s domestic resources, echoing the rhetoric of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Georgescu admires and describes as a patriot.
Georgescu has further drawn attention with his carefully crafted persona, which mirrors elements of his political inspirations. He has been photographed swimming in icy lakes, practicing judo, and riding a white horse, reminiscent of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, the leader of Romania’s far-right Legionary Movement. In 2022, after referring to Codreanu and Marshal Ion Antonescu—controversial figures associated with fascism and genocide—as martyrs, he faced legal action under Romania’s laws banning the promotion of fascist or xenophobic ideologies. However, the case was eventually dropped by prosecutors.
In media appearances, Georgescu has positioned himself as a staunch advocate of Romanian sovereignty, dismissing foreign policy issues like the war in Ukraine as irrelevant to the country’s priorities. "I am running for Romania, not for Ukraine," he declared during an election program on Digi24. "Neither my supporters nor the Romanian people care about Putin or Ukraine. They care about Romania: its stability, prosperity, and security. Foreign policy is about setting your priorities, and for us, that means neutrality in any conflict. What others do is not our concern."
The Romanian edition of Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s book The Real Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health features a foreword written by Calin Georgescu.
"The period of Nazism is nothing compared to what the current oligarchy is undertaking on a global scale", he writes in the foreword.
"The staff of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s book unquestionably proves that we are being led on a global scale by an oligarchic group for which no adjective is strong enough to describe their abjection—a faction that would make even the Cosa Nostra mafia pale in comparison. A fellowship of evil that conducts medical experiments on us, using doctors who have betrayed the Hippocratic Oath and politicians who have buried the Bible and the Constitution as their Gauleiters", he adds in the same foreword.
In his view, humanity is being manipulated by what is generically called Big Pharma—the large pharmaceutical corporations, which have only one interest: to conduct experiments on people.
He emphasizes that the battle we are part of today is "between globalism and sovereigntism," and the way the pandemic was managed between 2020-2022 "deliberately generated this crime against humanity."
Calin Georgescu’s success in the first round of Romania’s 2024 presidential elections on November 24 stunned many, but his rise has been meticulously cultivated, both online and through strategic alliances. An analysis by Expert Forum (EFOR) - an independent Romanian non-governmental organization focused on promoting good governance, transparency, and public accountability - released just before the elections, sheds light on the methods behind his growing popularity.
In just two months, Georgescu's campaign on TikTok achieved the same level of visibility that took his competitors—George Simion, Marcel Ciolacu, and Elena Lasconi—almost a year to build. EFOR highlighted how political hashtags have consistently dominated trending topics in Romania, with a surge of content from accounts dedicated to promoting presidential candidates. Many of these accounts were not officially affiliated with Georgescu but amplified his message obsessively, with some posts garnering over 1.5 million views.
One of the most prominent TikTok campaigns supporting Georgescu used the hashtag #echilibru?iverticalitate ("balance and uprightness"), generating 2.4 million views. Influencers across various niches—ranging from tarot reading to wellness and beauty—shared scripted endorsements of Georgescu’s values without naming him explicitly, relying on a coordinated message crafted to resonate with undecided voters.
Georgescu’s support extended beyond digital platforms to influential religious and nationalist groups. His connections to para-religious organizations operating within Romanian parishes and Christian networks bolstered his credibility among conservative voters.
One of his key allies is Father Pavel Chirila, a controversial figure known as "the father of homeopathy" and a vocal opponent of vaccination in Romania. Georgescu’s wife, Cristela, a holistic health practitioner, frequently collaborates with Chirila on topics like alternative medicine and public health policies.
Georgescu’s rhetoric and actions have long drawn criticism for promoting far-right ideologies. His past praise for historical figures like Corneliu Zelea Codreanu and Marshal Ion Antonescu—associated with fascism and genocide—sparked backlash, including public disavowals from former allies. However, this hasn’t deterred his core supporters.
His nationalist messaging has struck a chord with segments of the population disillusioned with Romania’s political establishment and skeptical of its commitments to NATO and the European Union. Georgescu’s remarks dismissing NATO and the EU as "myths" and advocating for Romanian sovereignty have resonated with those seeking a leader to challenge the status quo.
Georgescu’s rise also highlights shifting attitudes among young Romanians. A 2024 study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation revealed that 41% of voters aged 18-24 agreed with the statement, "We need a strong leader who doesn’t need to bother with Parliament or elections," suggesting a growing appetite for authoritarian leadership.
In 2024, elections were held in 74 countries, and an undeniable wave of discontent with ruling parties emerged globally. The post-COVID era created significant political tension, resulting in widespread voter dissatisfaction with incumbents. In Romania, this resulted in a sharp decline for parties like PSD and PNL, who had historically garnered significant votes.
The main candidates in the elections (Marcel Ciolacu - PSD, Elena Lasconi - USR , Nicolae Ciuca - PNL, George Simion - AUR) were also notably weak, which made voting more fluid and less committed. When all options seem weak, voters disengage or opt for alternatives. In this case, many chose to vote based on a desire for change, not necessarily a strong support for a specific candidate.
The results of the first round of Romania's presidential elections have plunged the country into an unprecedented and highly dangerous situation for democracy.
However, Georgescu's victory was exacerbated by actions taken by Romanian authorities, which further eroded public trust in state institutions. Authorities first denied any possibility of interference in the electoral process the day after the elections, but then, following a meeting on Thursday at Cotroceni Palace, the Supreme Council of National Defense revealed that cyberattacks had been launched with the aim of influencing the election's fairness. The Council also concluded that Calin Georgescu had been unfairly favored by TikTok, where he received significant exposure.
In another unprecedented move that further undermined public trust in the institutions, the Constitutional Court of Romania decided to annul the results of the first round. Investigations were launched into Georgescu's funding of the social media campaign, some collaborators were briefly detained and then released, and the media started uncovering a complex web of thousands of Russian-affiliated websites and social media accounts that pushed this candidate to the foreground of Romanian politics in less than 2 months.
Many voters are now realizing, as media attention on Georgescu intensifies, who they actually voted for. A number of influencers, who had previously supported him, have since publicly apologized, admitting they were unaware of his pro-Russian views, conspiracy theories, and sympathies with fascist ideologies.
However, dissatisfaction with the liberal-social-democrat coalition that has dominated the country in recent years remains acute, and the political situation is still too volatile to exclude social unrest in the coming weeks. While pro-EU parties regrouped and will form a government with a comfortable majority in the Romanian Parliament, tensions within Romanian society remain at an all-time high.
This article was written in the framework of The Eastern Frontier Initiative (TEFI) project. TEFI is a collaboration of independent publishers from Central and Eastern Europe, to foster common thinking and cooperation on European security issues in the region. The project aims to promote knowledge sharing in the European press and contribute to a more resilient European democracy.
Members of the consortium are 444 (Hungary), Gazeta Wyborcza (Poland), SME (Slovakia), PressOne (Romania), and Bellingcat (The Netherlands).
The TEFI project is co-financed by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
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