With a vote at an extraordinary congress of the largest party in Romania - the Social Democratic Party, a common candidate for president of Romania of the ruling coalition, consisting of three parties, was finally approved today, against the backdrop of strong public support for the independent candidate from the far right, Calin Georgescu, BTA reported.
The delegates to the extraordinary congress of the Social Democratic Party approved today the candidacy of the former leader of the liberals Crin Antonescu for president of Romania, and earlier the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania did the same.
Sixty-five-year-old Antonescu was supported by the Social Democrats with 5,484 votes “for“, 18 „against“ and 14 „abstained“. The congress was attended by 5,516 people, according to Romanian media.
Who is Crin Antonescu?
Crin Antonescu is a former chairman of the National Liberal Party (2009-2014) and former chairman of the Senate from 2012 to 2014. He was born on September 21, 1959 in Tulcea. He is a historian by profession.
In the period July 10, 2012 - August 27, 2012 Crin Antonescu served as interim President of Romania during the impeachment proceedings against then-President Traian Băsescu, which failed in a referendum.
Crin Antonescu served as a member of parliament for three terms from 1992 to 2008, before being elected as a senator twice, in 2008 and 2012. He also served as Minister of Youth and Sports from 1997 to 2000.
Antonescu was the presidential candidate of the National Liberal Party in the 2009 elections, when he came third in the first round. In the second round, Antonescu supported the Social Democratic Party's candidate Mircea Geoana.
In 2012 Crin Antonescu, as leader of the National Liberal Party, together with the then leader of the Social Democrats, Victor Ponta, and the leader of the Conservative Party, Daniel Constantin, created the political formation Social Liberal Union, whose goal was to overthrow Traian Băsescu from power and win the parliamentary elections in 2012 and the presidential elections in 2014.
Crin Antonescu has a daughter from his first marriage. In 2009, he married his party colleague Adina Valian, who was European Commissioner for Transport in the previous European Commission and is now an MEP.
In search of stability and avoiding mistakes of the past
In his speech today at the congress of the Social Democratic Party, Crin Antonescu stated that he wants a stable Romania.
„This could be the beginning of a wonderful friendship. In our case, it's a little different, the story is a little more interesting, a little more spectacular, and all I wish, not only for us, but for our country, is for this long and complicated story to have a happy ending. "Happy End means a stable Romania, with normal relations, after 20 years, between the president, parliament and political parties," Antonescu said, quoted by the Romanian section of Radio Free Europe.
At the congress, Social Democratic leader and Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu criticized the previous decision of the Liberals and Social Democrats to run separate candidates in the presidential election.
"The strategy was wrong," admitted Ciolacu, who came third in the annulled first round of the presidential election on November 24.
The Liberal candidate Nicolae Ciuca, however, came fifth and resigned from the leadership position.
The annulled election
The result of the first round of the presidential election in Romania was annulled by the Constitutional Court on December 6. because of suspicions of foreign interference that affected the fairness of the election process. Constitutional judges ruled that the entire process should start over, and the government set new elections for May.
The first round was won by the then little-known independent candidate Calin Georgescu, and second place went to the leader of the centrist party “Union for the Salvation of Romania“ Elena Lasconi.
Today, the leader of the Social Democrats, Marcel Ciolacu, admitted that “our stupid egos made us run separately and throw mud at each other every night on all televisions“.
“The achievements did not matter, because we only caused disgust. And the result was that Romanians turned their backs on us and embraced the charismatic alternative of a false messiah. (…)“, said Marcel Ciolacu, referring to Calin Georgescu.
Ciolacu stressed that the SDP cannot afford to side with extremism and mystical nationalism and that the only real alternative is a candidate capable of bringing stability to Romania. This person, according to Ciolacu, is Crin Antonescu.
In his speech, Crin Antonescu promised to be a strong president, but within the limits of the law and the constitution. He criticized extremist tendencies in the country and the lack of tolerance in society.
The remaining candidates at the moment
So far, the mayor of Bucharest, Nicășor Dan, and the leader of the opposition “Union for the Salvation of Romania” Elena Lasconi have also expressed their intention to run in the new presidential elections.
Calin Georgescu also announced his intention to participate in the vote, but it remains unclear whether his candidacy will be allowed, given the development of events with the presidential elections last year.
Last year, for example, the Constitutional Court did not allow the presidential candidacy of the leader of the far-right SOS Romania party, Diana Soshoaca, who is now a MEP. The judges cited the public positions held by Soshoaca, which questioned Romania's membership in the EU and NATO.
Calin Georgescu is also a vocal critic of NATO. At the same time, he remains the favorite for president in recent opinion polls.
Public support
A poll by the CURS pollsters' agency, published in late January, showed that Calin Georgescu was leading in voting intentions with 37 percent, followed by Bucharest Mayor Nicosor Dan with 21 percent and the ruling coalition's candidate, Crin Antonescu, with 18 percent, Romanian media reported.
A survey by the Avangard agency published earlier in January also put Calin Georgescu in first place with 38 percent. In this poll, the ruling coalition's general candidate, Crin Antonescu, was in second place with 25 percent, and Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan was ranked third with 17 percent.
On January 24, several thousand supporters of Calin Georgescu responded to his call to gather for a "National Unity Rally" in one of Bucharest's parks. Later in the day, Georgescu's supporters attempted to join a union protest in Victoria Square, where the government building is located, and some of them clashed with the gendarmerie.
On 10 January, around 4,000 Georgescu's supporters protested in front of the Constitutional Court demanding a second round of the presidential election.
The nationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians party also organised several protests demanding the cancelled round of the presidential election to be held.
On 12 January, tens of thousands of Alliance for the Unity of Romanians supporters took part in a protest in central Bucharest against the cancellation of the 2024 presidential election. According to organisers, the demonstration gathered over 50,000 people. The large march demanded a second round of the presidential election between Calin Georgescu and Elena Lasconi, as well as the resignation of President Klaus Iohannis. Calin Georgescu is a former member of the Alliance for the Unification of Romanians.