The Romanian parliamentary elections held on December 1 secured a fragile hold for fragmented pro-European forces in the legislature, yet the country remains shaken by the earlier presidential first-round result.
Călin Georgescu, a previously obscure ultranationalist, vaccine-skeptic and admirer of Vladimir Putin, vaulted to the top of the presidential race on the back of a savvy, algorithm-fueled TikTok campaign. He moved from 1% in the polls before the start of campaigning to a winning figure of 23% on the day. The second round is scheduled for December 8.
The authorities cried foul, blaming the Chinese social media site for a concerted influence campaign designed to aid an extremist, anti-Western candidate. TikTok is partly owned by the Chinese state and must, by law, assist Chinese intelligence agencies.
Documents declassified by the Romanian intelligence service on December 4 indicated a complex funding mechanism behind Georgescu’s campaign, despite his official declaration of zero electoral spending.
According to the documents, Bogdan Peșchir, a Romanian citizen, used his TikTok account to donate over €1m to promote Georgescu, with $381,000 traced to payments between October 24 and November 24, violating both Romanian law and TikTok’s policies. Romanian influencers were offered €1,000 to distribute pro-Georgescu content. TikTok had previously said there was minimal interference and that it shut down Russian-linked and other accounts during the campaign.
TikTok’s role is of course a significant issue, but there are key underlying issues that have assisted the rise of an unknown populist. His rise highlights the precarious state of Romanian democracy — threatened by external interference, internal disillusionment, and the tectonic shifts reshaping politics across Europe.
Georgescu, a Bucharest-born agronomic engineer with a PhD in soil science, rose through roles in Romania’s Environment Ministry, the United Nations, and as the architect of the country’s sustainable development strategies in 1999 and 2008. He has embraced far-right, anti-Western rhetoric and briefly served as honorary president of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, the far right nationalist party, before distancing himself.
In 2016, Kremlin propaganda outlet Sputnik hailed him as “the future Prime Minister of Romania.” He is now under investigation for promoting fascist ideologies and glorifying war criminals, including Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, the founder of the fascist Iron Guard movement, and Ion Antonescu, Romania’s dictator during World War II and a Nazi collaborator, who he publicly called “heroes.”
His victory in the first round of presidential voting sent shockwaves through the political establishment. Winning nearly 23% of the vote, he outperformed better-known candidates from Romania’s established political giants, including the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party. He now faces a run-off against Elena Lasconi, leader of the liberal Save Romania Union, who won 19%. First round turnout was a dismal 51%, a figure it has hovered around for many years.
Less than three weeks before the election, Georgescu was polling at such a low level that traditional media largely ignored him. His campaign then leveraged TikTok to reach voters directly. Hashtags, viral videos, and targeted posts drove his views up by 300,000 in the weeks leading up to the election, making him the face of the growing ultranationalist movement.
Georgescu leveraged TikTok’s algorithm by promoting targeted hashtags, through a mix of fake and real accounts, which helped make his content go viral. The use of paid influencers helped him target disenchanted youth, rural voters, and diaspora communities. His nationalist rhetoric, which promises to restore Romanian “sovereignty,” and rejection of alleged foreign interference, resonated deeply with frustrated voters. For the diaspora — many working in blue-collar jobs across the EU and feeling marginalized both abroad and at home — Georgescu’s focus on Romanian dignity and sovereignty provided a sense of representation.
This exploitation of deeper social discontent rests on decades of corruption, mismanagement, and broken promises from Romania’s major parties. This has eroded public trust and fueled voter frustration — a 2023 survey showed just 19% trusted the government and 17% trusted parliament.
Romania ranks among the EU’s most corrupt countries, and is first in the EU for tax evasion, with over €16bn siphoned off annually. Trust in political parties among younger people has reached a historic low of just 4% in a country where 42% of students are functionally illiterate.
Romania is also the target of Moscow’s disinformation warfare. Russian-backed disinformation networks have long sought to polarize Romanian society and weaken its democratic institutions. Young, less-educated Romanians are particularly vulnerable, with trust in Russia higher among this group than the national average, according to a study conducted by Professor Dan Sultănescu, an expert in combating disinformation. Georgescu’s rhetoric aligns disturbingly well with Kremlin-backed narratives.
The elections have also highlighted the challenges of regulating digital platforms. Romanian authorities flagged potential violations of the EU’s Digital Services Act, citing TikTok’s role in spreading manipulated content and asked the EU Commission to open an investigation. TikTok denied the allegations, and its CEO was summoned to the European Parliament. Yet, even if irregularities are confirmed, the most likely consequence for the social media firm would be a fine — an easily absorbed cost of doing business. Romania and the EU lack enforceable accountability mechanisms to ensure platforms face meaningful consequences for enabling disinformation and manipulation.
A poll now projects that Călin Georgescu will win the runoff with 58% of the vote, ahead of Elena Lasconi’s 42%. Even if Lasconi does win, it would likely be a short-term success rather than a solution to the deep divisions that have been developed over time.
This election underscores an urgent truth: Romania’s leaders must tackle the root causes of voter disillusionment. At the same time, they must partner with transatlantic allies to counter Moscow’s hybrid threats and establish stronger defenses against the corrosive influence of disinformation.
The stakes are high: how Romania confronts this moment will set a precedent for Europe’s broader fight against illiberalism and foreign interference.
Anda Bologa is an independent expert on Central European foreign policy, transatlantic affairs, and AI and digital policy. She was a Denton Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).
Europe’s Edge is CEPA’s online journal covering critical topics on the foreign policy docket across Europe and North America. All opinions expressed on Europe’s Edge are those of the author alone and may not represent those of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis. CEPA maintains a strict intellectual independence policy across all its projects and publications.
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