„Romania has suffered a true social trauma with the cancellation of the presidential elections. The accumulated frustration over time in all layers of society has turned into hatred and has now erupted in the form of unleashed anti-system fury. (…) But the solution is by no means to arbitrarily prohibit someone from running for office. Such a decision must be based solely on solid and concrete evidence, because otherwise, it will only generate more anger in society,” stated Marcel Ciolacu at the Sunday PSD congress.
A statement in which supporters of Mr. Georgescu rushed to interpret as an acknowledgment from the Prime Minister of the injustice done to their candidate and a guarantee that when submitting the candidacy for the May 4 elections, he will not be rejected by the Constitutional Court, following the Şosoacă model.
The interpretation can only be valid to the extent that the condition invoked by Mr. Ciolacu is not met. That is, the rejection of the candidacy would be made without solid and concrete reasons.
But why would Marcel Ciolacu make a statement at the launch congress of the coalition's common candidate that signals a green light for Călin Georgescu and, moreover, admits that a major injustice has been committed against him?
But if Marcel Ciolacu already knows that there is evidence and it will surface? Some public clues may already exist.
One is the statement of Minister Tanczos Barna that ANAF has sent to the prosecutor's office information regarding Călin Georgescu's "zero lei" electoral campaign, after an investigation that traced the money that reached him.
What they discovered, we do not know, maybe everything is fine. But it becomes difficult to understand in these conditions why Călin Georgescu felt the need to go on television with a series of securistic or mafia-style blackmail attempts, there is not much difference between them.
Georgescu's Blackmail
Staring directly into the camera with a threatening finger pointed towards the mentioned person, Mr. Georgescu made all sorts of threats with pieces of so-called information towards the head of SIE, the Minister of the Interior, former Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ungureanu, the President of the PNL and the Senate Ilie Bolojan, former SRI chief Eduard Hellvig, information which he implies he received from officers in the secret services.
He even let slip a gem in the midst of the threats. He said, "colleagues from SIE are shocked." Oops! He later clarified that he was referring to Mr. Vlase's SIE colleagues. Maybe so, but the wording is ambiguous and the clarification forced.
All accusations were made in the key: if you don't leave me alone, I'll reveal more. If Mr. Georgescu has real information about serious acts committed by former or current dignitaries, it is unacceptable not to make them public, not to report them to the Prosecutor's Office, and to use them solely to silence others.
Resorting to this practice is a sign of nervousness, if not panic, on Mr. Georgescu's part. He has much to lose.
Most of his supporters seem to have fallen into a kind of mystical crisis, completely immune to any argument and declare that nothing could make them change their choice. Because it does not refer to the candidate himself, but to their own anger and frustration. That's what they vote for.
In these conditions, it is vital for Mr. Georgescu to get on the ballot, after which he will have nothing left to do but collect hatred. If he falls, it won't matter anymore.
He knows this, and those eagerly awaiting his downfall know it too.
Who's Lurking?
On one hand, George Simion, the first one impacted by Georgescu's sudden rise. Simion could no longer capture the fury because the ambition for external legitimization drastically reduced his radicalization. Șoșoacă had declared him a traitor, and many suspected, probably rightly, that her elimination by the Constitutional Court was done to ensure his nationalist corridor to the second round.
After being dethroned on November 24, Simion was the first to regroup and align himself with Călin Georgescu. He sticks close to him but marks specific differences, for example, the success of the AUR demonstration in January, and waits for Mr. Georgescu to be eliminated to take over the position and the banner for May 4.
He was at Donald Trump's inauguration and managed to take some quite remarkable photos there, he is very active, collecting signatures for candidacy, officially only in the situation where Georgescu would be rejected, which will cause him intense mourning before taking his place, of course.
Victor Ponta is also watching, with much fewer chances and much more ridicule, according to his strategists from Belgrade.
Whom will Georgescu bless if he falls? It doesn't matter. From the moment of his elimination, Călin Georgescu will no longer matter because he will have nothing to deliver and embody. He owns nothing, has nothing to convey.
His political capital is the anti-system fury that will move on its own towards other beneficiaries, one of whom will probably be propelled into the second round. Preferably, at least one with a sound mind.