Romanian presidential candidate who celebrates fascists and Putin under investigation for antisemitism, Musk and Trump defend him
Prosecutors in Romania announced the beginning of their investigation into ultra-right politician Călin Georgescu on suspicion of many crimes, including antisemitism. Reuters reports that the winner of the first round of last year's annulled presidential elections was questioned on 26 February.
Georgescu, a strong critic of NATO and of the aid for Russian-occupied Ukraine from the West, was questioned for several hours by prosecutors. They are investigating November’s presidential election, which was annulled by the courts in December on suspicion of foreign interference.
Accusations of interference were aimed at Moscow, primarily, which has of course rejected them. After Georgescu was questioned, prosecutors announced they were beginning an investigation of him on suspicion of establishing an antisemitic association, of promoting fascist organizations and war criminals, and of spreading fake information.
Prosecutors also said raids had been undertaken at 47 addresses of groups and individuals linked to Georgescu. Those included Horaţiu Potra, a former member of the French Foreign Legion and military instructor in the Congo whose security firm provides Georgescu with protection.
According to prosecutors, a big hideaway with cash and weapons was found during the raid. Georgescu accused the authorities of behaving like a typical communist regime.
“The communist, Bolshevik system is continuing its repugnant abuse,” Georgescu posted to Facebook. “They want to invent evidence to justify stealing the election and to do anything they can to block my next candidacy.”
Georgescu’s team said authorities brought him in for questioning on the very day the politician intended to file his candidacy in the repeat presidential elections scheduled for May. About 100 political supporters of Georgescu gathered outside the prosecutors’ headquarters in Bucharest, chanting “national unity”.
Several ultra-nationalist lawmakers from the Romanian Parliament also joined them. Georgescu, who has praised the fascist leaders of Romania from the 1930s and expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, still leads public opinion polls in the runup to elections this May.
It is not yet clear whether Georgescu will be permitted to run in the next presidential election. Members of the Trump administration have harshly criticized Romania for overturning the last election results.
U. S. Vice President J. D. Vance said that the cancellation of the election results means Romania does not share American values, while billionaire Elon Musk called the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Romania, which overturned the result, a “tyrant”. Posting to the X social media site, which he owns, Musk called it “perverse” that the Romanian authorities had brought Georgescu in for questioning.
Georgescu has attacked minorities, including Roma
Georgescu’s remarks about minorities, Roma in particular, have previously drawn attention. In a older audio recording that came to light, he can be heard declaring that “the minorities must show their respect for the Romanian people, which has given them land and water”.
According to his critics, Georgescu was indicating that minorities “owe” the majority nation the very conditions for their living in Romania. The remark sparked strong criticism and was called xenophobic.
Georgescu was also publicly criticized by Romanian lawmaker Nicolae Păun, who recalled the historical suffering of the Roma, including their enslavement, deportation, and forced assimilation. He sarcastically remarked that Georgescu obviously considered Roma to be cattle if he “assigns them a handful of straw and a river to connect to life in Romania”.
Păun stressed that minorities have contributed to the building of the modern Romanian state and deserve respect, not scorn. Many other commentators rejected Georgescu’s position as incompatible with the values of a democracy.
