Kremlin 'not familiar' with Romanian 'pro-Russia presidential contender

MOSCOW: Russia said Monday it did not know much about a pro-Moscow Romanian politician who is in pole position to become the EU member’s next president.

Far-right candidate Calin Georgescu, who has criticised NATO and Bucharest’s support for Ukraine, led the first round of Romania’s presidential election, held Sunday, to face a little-known mayor in the second round early next month.

“I can’t say that we are very familiar with the worldview of this candidate, as far it concerns relations with our country,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

“As for the current leadership, Romania is not a friendly country to us, and we will continue to follow how things develop,” he added.

Georgescu has surged in recent days with a viral TikTok campaign calling for an end to aid for Ukraine. He has also sounded a sceptical note on Romania’s NATO membership.

A victory in a second round contest, set for December 8, would be a political earthquake in the country of 19 million, a NATO member country of country of 19 million.

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu was in third place with 19.15 percent of the ballot in Sunday’s election after 99 percent of the vote was counted, eliminating him from the December 8 run off.

Exit polls in the race for the largely ceremonial post initially had showed the premier with a comfortable lead and put another far-right candidate, George Simion, in second.

“Tonight, the Romanian people cried out for peace. And they shouted very loudly, extremely loudly”, Georgescu said late Sunday.

“The far right is by far the big winner of this election”, political scientist Cristian Pirvulescu told AFP of the result that sent shockwaves across the country.

Ciolacu’s Social Democrat party has shaped Romania’s politics for more than three decades.

But with concerns mounting over inflation and the war in neighbouring Ukraine, the far right had appeared to be gaining ground ahead of the vote.

The stakes are high for Romania, which has a 650-kilometre (400-mile) border with Ukraine and has become more important since Russia invaded in 2022.

The Black Sea nation now plays a “vital strategic role” for NATO — as it is a base for more than 5,000 soldiers — and the transit of Ukrainian grain, the New Strategy Center think tank said.

Pirvulescu, the political scientist, said the far right’s surprise success could have a “contagion effect” in the parliamentary elections slated for December, which could make it difficult to form a coalition.