Activist judges and Russian interference: a ghastly warning for European democracy

Telegraph

14-03-2025

On Sunday, Romania's Central Election Bureau barred far-Right firebrand Calin Georgescu from running in May's presidential elections. Georgescu immediately contested this decision but to no avail. After two hours of deliberations on Tuesday, the Romanian Constitutional Court ruled unanimously in support of banning Georgescu's election bid.
Romania's decision to bar Georgescu from seeking his country's highest office has triggered mixed international reactions. European leaders have largely refrained from casting judgment on the Georgescu ruling.
Despite Russia's track record of preventing critics of President Vladimir Putin from pursuing higher office, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov panned Romania's decision as a 'violation of all democratic norms in the centre of Europe.' While President Donald Trump has not commented on Romania's decision, his close ally Tesla CEO Elon Musk branded it as 'crazy.'
Was Romania justified in barring Georgescu's candidacy or do its critics have a point? There is no easy answer to this question.
On the one hand, there is evidence that Georgescu benefited from undisclosed financial support and Russian election interference. After the Constitutional Court annulled Georgescu's triumph in the first round of Romania's elections in December 2024,
Romanian prosecutors raided three properties linked to Bogdan Peschir in Brasov. Peschir was accused of providing €360,000 to pro-Georgescu influencers on TikTok. Peschir's funds raised Georgescu's profile and transformed him from a fringe candidate into a frontrunner. This contradicts Georgescu's declaration of zero funds spent during the Romanian election campaign.
Georgescu's promotion of Russia-friendly narratives has been a consistent feature of his political career. Georgescu has decried the artificiality of Ukraine and lionised Putin as a 'man who loves his country.' Georgescu has blamed the machinations of the US military-industrial complex for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and branded Nato's ballistic missile defence shield a 'disgrace.'
The consistency of Georgescu's rhetoric ensures that the Kremlin viewed him as a reliable surrogate in Romania. Post-election research from the London-based Foreign Policy Centre (FPC) suggests that a coordinated campaign amplified Georgescu's candidacy on X, Telegram, Facebook and YouTube.
After examining 3,500 pro-Georgescu posts and publications, the FPC discovered that the majority originated from Russian state media sources like RT and Sputnik.
The Romanian authorities allege that Russia's interference on Georgescu's behalf went beyond disinformation. In early December, Romania's top security council revealed that the country's electoral system was subjected to 85,000 cyberattacks. As Russian cybercrime websites published access data for major Romanian election websites, it is plausible that the Kremlin masterminded this spree of cyberattacks.
These arguments seem to crystallise Romania's case that it needed to ban Georgescu's campaign on national security grounds. But there is a bit more to the story.
After the Brasov raids, the Romanian authorities did not directly link Peschir's TikTok ads to a Russian state order. There also isn't smoking gun evidence that Georgescu solicited Kremlin interference or was directly involved in Peschir's alleged money laundering scheme. And even if more solid evidence surfaces, Georgescu hasn't been convicted of anything in a court of law.
These seeds of doubt could sow discord within Romanian society and undermine public confidence in Romania's democratic process.
A plurality of Romanians voted for Georgescu because his rhetoric resonated with their worldview. Former Deputy Secretary General of Nato Mircea Geoana acknowledged this reality after Georgescu's first-round triumph by stating 'It's hugely mistaken to believe all of this is because of Russia. There is a whole cocktail of grievances in our society.'
Georgescu's forced removal from Romania's political scene will inspire other Right-wing nationalists to assume his mantle.
George-Nicolae Simion, the leader of Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) which is the second largest party in the Romanian parliament, is actively courting Georgescu's support base. Although Simion is pro-Nato, he shares Georgescu's Euroscepticism and opposition to militarily supporting Ukraine. An emboldened Simion, who has decried Georgescu's exclusion as a fatal moment for Romanian democracy, will deepen mistrust of Romania's political institutions.
The legacy of Georgescu's exclusion could extend far beyond Romania's borders. Elsewhere in Europe, establishment politicians have branded their opponents on the far-Right as extremists. During the run-up to the June 2024 French legislative elections, President Emmanuel Macron framed himself as a bulwark against extremism and political chaos.
After the Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) triumphed in Thuringia and recorded large gains in Saxony in September 2024, Germany's soon-to-be Chancellor Friedrich Merz disavowed the AfD as 'Right-wing extremist' and pledged to avoid any cooperation with the party.
This rhetoric has been paired with legal actions against Right-wing populist and far-Right parties. In May 2024, a court in Münster deemed the AfD to be a suspected extremist organisation. This ruling stemmed from the court's belief that the AfD wanted to create a two-tier society that gave ethnic Germans more rights than descendants of immigrants. As the AfD was deemed culpable in 'illegal discrimination,' the court's ruling allowed the German intelligence services to monitor its activities and communications.
French National Rally Leader Marine Le Pen has long faced scrutiny over her handling of her party's finances. Le Pen's 2014 First Czech Russian Bank loan fuelled legitimate concerns about her susceptibility to Kremlin interference. Legal pressure on the National Rally has reached new heights since last year's French legislative elections.
In November 2024, a Paris prosecutor proposed a five-year prison sentence and five-year ban from political office for Le Pen for alleged misappropriation of European Parliament funds. The prohibition on political participation would take effect immediately and would not be relinquished even as appeals were underway.
While campaign finance violations, unlawful discrimination and hostile state interference should have no place in European political life, the forced ostracisation of far-Right parties is a slippery slope. It risks making these parties even more extreme and further eroding public trust in the media, court systems and democratic institutions. Party leaders can be silenced but the ideas they espouse and grievances they awaken do not easily go underground.
Romania's suspension of Georgescu's insurgent campaign is a double-edged sword. It protects Romania from the short-term threat of Russian interference while sowing doubts about the strength of its democracy. European leaders should take note.