Information declassified on Wednesday by Romanian authorities about massive foreign support that benefited Calin Georgescu in the elections for the country’s top role is a sufficient argument for an extensive and swift criminal investigation.
In fact, the Prosecutor General’s Office on Wednesday evening said it is already analyzing this. (Although, personally, I would say that even at this stage the individual should be arrested).
In any case, the Georgescu affair will develop in four main directions: criminal, political, diplomatic and intelligence.
The first two are of immediate interest, given the electoral context; and with the highest degree of exposure for public opinion. The other two are also of immediate interest, in the long term too, but less exposed to the public.
Let’s “open” them one at a time.
CRIMINAL DIMENSION
Here, things are crystal clear: the prosecutors must shed, without any reservations, maximum light on the involvement of the Georgescu family and various characters who are in the shadows and proximity of the couple. Characters who made material and financial contributions to the hybrid dynamics of Calin Georgescu’s secretive electoral campaign.
It is not by chance that I used the term “Georgescu family”. Because not only Călin needs to investigated, but also Cristela, his wife. In the euphoria induced by his spectacular success in the first round, Cristela Georgescu proudly declared: “I run the technical army behind Calin.”
In the light of the details made available by declassifying the information collected by the secret services, it becomes imperative to investigate Cristela Georgescu because as demonstrated, there was a massive “technical army behind Călin” and one with significant foreign ramifications.
How, and with who and by what means, and starting when and by what methods did Cristela Georgescu act for the candidate Călin Georgescu? This is what prosecutors must now investigate, and in her words, “holistically”.
Probably the first step will be to question her, not just him.
Of course, the prospect of opening criminal cases connected to the neo-legionary and paramilitary activities of some characters from the Georgescu family’s political entourage is not excluded.
The secret services provided clues for this from what was declassified.
In conclusion, we currently have a candidate for the top role in the state administration who is potentially in a “in bed with” with state and non-state entities whose interests are seriously opposed to the national interest of Romania and its allies.
And from here the bridge to the political dimension is made.
POLITICAL DIMENSION
First of all, the voters who will go to the polls on Sunday now have convincing elements to without doubt understand who deserves their vote and who doesn’t.
No citizen of Romania will be able to claim later that he was not aware of the fact that by voting for Calin Georgescu he practically voted for the internationally wanted criminal, Vladimir Putin.
No political party, civic association or non-governmental organization can claim, as of Wednesday, that it served Romania’s interests by supporting the election of Calin Georgescu as president.
Then, in the barbaric scenario of absurdity in which this pro-Russian candidate still gets elected, not only would he be a president suspected of serious crimes, perhaps even of treason, but he would also be a president whose wife would be under investigation for acts of similar gravity. And she does not benefit from immunity.
Then, such a president has no chance to keep his position. The Constitution stipulates dryly: “Fidelity to the country is sacred.” There is also a Criminal Code that defines and punishes treason – imprisonment from 10 to 20 years.
In the case of Georgescu, loyalty is not a sacred value for him.
Further, the Parliament can open the suspension procedure. According to the Constitution, the president can also be impeached for serious deeds, although a two-thirds vote of Parliament is required.
In any case, an irresponsible vote for Calin Georgescu, given on Sunday, will trigger a major political crisis immediately after the election.
There is also an option where the Constitutional Court will not validate the eventual election of Calin Georgescu.
Be that as it may, the following aspect must also be remembered. Statements made by Calin Georgescu on the national economy and foreign investments, have led to losses of 11 billion lei on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, and there are red flags for local and foreign companies, as well as the European Commission on which Romania depends to breathe and grow.
Some will say, perhaps, that the general public was not affected by the the 11 billion lei loss. But they are, as the Pillar II of pensions is on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
DIPLOMATIC AND INTELLIGENCE DIMENSION
The lightning-fast and unnatural rise of Calin Georgescu in Romania, should lead to a reassessment of the Russian threat, and to strategic work to increase awareness among citizens and institutions about this type of threat. The media and public should be educated in general about Moscow’s vectors of influence. There should also be a robust debate about the presence TikTok in Romania.
Obviously, this information should be shared at the EU and NATO level.
A Romania that is still so vulnerable to this kind of Russian and Chinese interference can constitute a colossal security breach for its allies, with enormous costs and global implications.
Călin Georgescu had already drawn attention through his speech, through his current speech and entourage that he represents a national and international security problem.
Now, from what the relevant institutions have exposed to the general public, it is clear that there can no longer be hesitations and half-measures in how we treat this problem.
The Calin Georgescu case should be a text book study. It would be good for those inside Romania act to serve hostile foreign interests to be made an example of.
Beware of the Russians: their most efficient proxies often speak and pretend to feel Romanian, wave the flag and are full of God, the sinners!
