Romanian far‑right leader Georgescu arrested amid election row
Călin Georgescu, the far-right winner of the first round of the annulled presidential elections in Romania, was arrested on Wednesday at 12:00 GMT. "It seems that Bucharest is paving the way to block Georgescu's participation in the elections, despite clear signals from the Trump administration," summarises OSW analyst Kamil Całus.
As reported on Wednesday by Romanian media, Călin Georgescu was detained by the police. He is a far-right populist who received the most votes in the first round of last year's annulled presidential elections in Romania.
The arrest of the politician was also noted on social media by Kamil Całus, an analyst at the Centre for Eastern Studies, stating that "Georgescu is to be interrogated soon in connection with allegations of non-transparent funding of his election campaign."
"Let us recall, Georgescu, who is accused (for now without clear evidence) of support from Moscow, claims that he did not spend a penny on his campaign and that all promotional activities were grassroots," indicates the expert.
"Bucharest is paving the way to block Georgescu's participation in the elections"
He also informed that "simultaneously, the Romanian police conducted a series of searches today in the homes of people associated with Georgescu, including his bodyguard, Horatiu Potry (a professional mercenary). They are suspected, among other things, of creating and leading fascist, racist, and xenophobic organisations (this simply refers to neo-legionary movements, drawing on the traditions of Romanian interwar and World War II fascism under the sign of the Iron Guard)."
As Kamil Całus emphasises, "it appears that Bucharest is paving the way to block Georgescu's participation in the elections despite clear signals from the Trump administration and the confidants of the US president (particularly from J.D. Vance) not to do so."
The presidential elections in Romania are set to be repeated in May. In recent days, Bloomberg reported that "during private meetings with their Romanian counterparts, US officials are warning them not to block Călin Georgescu's campaign, a Trump supporter, who condemns NATO and praises Vladimir Putin."
Georgescu is also known for speaking favourably of the Russian leader as a "man who loves his country," while simultaneously calling Ukraine a "fictional state."
On Saturday, protests took place on the streets of Bucharest. Thousands of people supported Călin Georgescu and demanded the resumption of the elections annulled by the Constitutional Court. Georgescu's supporters were backed by US Vice President J.D. Vance, who recently criticised Romania for annulling the elections based on "dubious suspicions" and "enormous pressure" from the European Union.
