Thousands of Romanians gathered in a popular square in the capital Bucharest to stage a pro-Europe rally. It comes just a few days before the second round of the country’s presidential election, as concerns over the political scene veering towards populism loom large.
More than 4,000 Romanians participated in the demonstration in University Square in downtown Bucharest.
Protesters waved Romanian and European Union flags side-by-side, and were heard chanting pro-EU slogans.
The rally comes just a few days before a presidential runoff vote takes place in the country on 8 December.
Far-right Calin Georgescu stuns Romania as he wins first round of presidential race
The first round of the presidential race saw independent far-right populist candidate Calin Georgescu win almost 23% of the vote after polling in the single digits in the week leading up to it.
His campaign, promoted entirely on social media platform TikTok saw him suddenly rise in popularity. Analysts say his delivery and presence on the platform allowed him to connect with the younger demographics.
Georgescu promotes anti-EU and anti-NATO rhetoric to his large following, claiming the country needs to employ policies of ‘neutrality’. The controversial figure dubbed the ‘TikTok Messiah’ has also publicly expressed his admiration for Romanian fascists as well as Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. He has even vowed to cut Romania’s military and political support to Ukraine, an EU ally.
A new political reality
Romanians hoped the presidential election results were a fluke and did not signal the country’s political landscape shifting to populism.
The parliamentary election, held just one week after the presidential first round also saw far-right parties make considerable gains. The Alliance for the Union of Romanians party (AUR) finished second securing just over 18% of the votes, around 4% below the PSD’s 22%.
There is a lot at stake in Sunday’s election and Romanians are feeling it. Pro-EU rallies have been regularly taking place across the country since the first round on 24 November.
“I lived part of my life in a political regime in which these things were absolutely impossible, you couldn’t think of these things. And I have the feeling that all these things can be lost in half a year. And we can’t lose this ever again, it’s impossible, it’s unacceptable,” Serban Pavlu, a Romanian actor participating in the demonstration said.
Georgescu defeated reformist incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), who finished in third place and has since dropped out of the race.
He will now face reformist candidate Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union Party (USR) in what is expected to be a tightly contested election on Sunday.
