Behind an apparent patriotic brotherhood, a life-and-death battle is taking place between Călin Georgescu and George Simion for the majority support of the anti-system electorate. They are labeled as such because both the participants in Sunday’s protest and the voters of extremist candidates and parties are not themselves predominantly extremists.
Most have become intolerant of traditional parties, want something different, and have fallen into the trap of manipulation that told them exactly what they wanted to hear, confirmed their anger, and provided solutions as attractive as they are false, sometimes even dangerous.
A recent example is the interview in which Călin Georgescu validates the claim that the NATO base in Kogălniceanu is to be used by the US to start a war against Russia. Beyond any other arguments, the assertion is an insult to logic.
After January 21, that is, starting next Tuesday, any war by the US or NATO against anyone, including Russia, can only be initiated by Donald Trump, the one whom Călin Georgescu relies on for support, blessing, intervention, the one whom Călin Georgescu compares himself to.
So, is Trump preparing to do something very bad against Romania in Georgescu's devoted Trumpist view?
Interestingly, the response came to Georgescu from Gigi Becali, AUR deputy, in his characteristic style, much more biting in front of the target electorate than any conventional speech. It is a sign, but not the only one.
Simion vs Georgescu
The successful protest on Sunday by George Simion, one of the largest organized by a political party in the last 35 years, was a show of strength in front of Călin Georgescu, who did not even attend the demonstration, with a much smaller one, convened by him at the CCR.
The mysterious way in which Mr. Georgescu left the country before that protest left a bitter taste for some of his supporters. While Mr. Simion stood at the forefront of the "troops."
Questioned on Antena3 about Mr. Georgescu's plans, anti-EU, anti-NATO, about nationalizing companies that are not Romanian, Mr. Lulea, George Simion's right-hand man and proposed prime minister, distanced himself from all of them, even assuring that AUR will not vote for such measures in Parliament, and the president does not have legal leverage to act alone.
Asked why AUR supports Mr. Georgescu under these conditions, Mr. Lulea replied: "because that's what the people wanted." In other words, if the people want to be deceived, who are we, the second party in Parliament, to tell them the truth?
What Simion Awaits
But this people may eventually disavow Mr. Georgescu. Because he is always distant, because he only speaks to them from screens, in recorded messages, because nothing goes well for him in justice and people despise the vanquished, because the emotions Mr. Georgescu manipulates are volatile and to remain at the same high level they need increasingly intense stimuli, and Mr. Georgescu is not exactly a genius, not even in manipulation.
Some might realize, perhaps, that for a man who claims to have worked in major international institutions, Mr. Georgescu speaks a very approximate English, often with his hands.
That for an authentic sovereignist, he too often calls for the intervention in Romania of the US president and foreign courts. And other similar aspects.
And if the people do not disavow him, based on minimal jurisprudential consistency, the Constitutional Court will probably reject his presidential candidacy for the very reasons invoked in the case of Mrs. Șoșoacă, even better outlined in Mr. Georgescu's case. Who knows what ANAF will discover through the finances of Mr. Georgescu's campaign.
Mr. Simion has positioned himself clearly to take over this electorate that he does not contradict, but to which he tries to offer an alternative, if not better, at least safer and more accessible.
However, he has a problem, not with the three bodies, but with the two chairs, between which he may fall.
The Balancing Act
Mr. Simion tries to project the image of the most moderate among radicals. Radical because that is what the anti-system electorate wants, which signaled to him during the presidential elections that it is insufficient, compared to the expectations of the hardcore. But moderate to not lose his small external validation in the European conservative group for which he has worked hard and had to tone down the stridency, which is why the Șoșoacă area accused him of betrayal.
Let's not forget that Ms. Meloni, in whose European group AUR managed to attach itself, is probably Donald Trump's best friend in Europe.
Trying to be both, in a sort of political balancing act, Mr. Simion takes on the great risk of falling between two chairs, invalidated by both radicals and external forces. Especially since Ms. Șoșoacă has not resigned herself to a marginal role from her exile, no matter how lucrative in the European Parliament. Moreover, he is not the only one waiting for Mr. Georgescu's downfall, already mourned in advance by many as psychological preparation.
If the extremist area had an undisputed authentic leader, the risk of an anti-European power in Bucharest would be very high. The real sanitary cordon is not that of traditional parties, but of the hate-filled competition among extremist leaders.
It's just a momentary advantage though. Because necessity ultimately creates demand, and if the European area does not undergo a substantial renewal, not just cosmetic, the inevitable will strike.