Marcel Ciolacu has entered a zone of maximum turbulence due to the way he acted in relation to his rival George Simion.
The latter has concrete chances of reaching the second round of the presidential elections and even winning against the leader of the PSD, thus becoming the President of Romania.
Moreover, George Simion is also a major threat to national security through his activities, as a result of which he has two active bans from entering the territory of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.
Marcel Ciolacu and the PSD have done and are doing everything possible to help the leader of AUR reach the second round of the presidential elections. They hope that Romanian voters will be horrified by the prospect of a supporter of Russia reaching the Cotroceni Palace, thus voting for the representative of the social democrats for the position of president.
The situation is much more complicated, and according to sources consulted for this article, there is a real concern within the government about the possibility of George Simion becoming the President of Romania.
"Good day! I kindly ask for this conversation to remain private because I work in a public institution <redacted>. I do not vote for and have not voted for the PSD... From what I have discussed with other colleagues, if George Simion and Marcel Ciolacu make it to the second round, they will vote for Simion, even though they know the danger he represents. Just as long as Marcel Ciolacu doesn't become president... I am really afraid that Simion will win..."
I received the above message through the communication application of a social platform from a person who provided their name, asking me only to protect their identity due to the sensitivity of the subject.
A Dangerous Game, Spiraling Out of Control
This trend expressed in the statement above has been noticed by several sociologists in recent times, and they have alerted the public about the danger of Simion winning the elections.
INSCOP, in the latest opinion poll, announces that in the case of a very probable final between Marcel Ciolacu and George Simion, the score would be 55-45 in favor of the former, without taking into account the diaspora vote.
Due to a major fragmentation on the right side of the political spectrum, the cynicism of the PSD, and a major institutional deadlock caused by the loss of the president's authority, Romania is rapidly heading towards disaster, with the political elite's inability to find compromising solutions visibly evident.
Marcel Ciolacu, through the letter from the Ukrainian government presented to the public, has only provided further support to the extremist leader George Simion to reach the second round of the presidential elections.
The Prime Minister has played an extremely dangerous game, jeopardizing his credibility and the possibility of compromising Simion's chances in a one-on-one confrontation to reach the Cotroceni Palace.
By turning the AUR leader into a "hero of Romanianism," Ciolacu will have no credible argument after November 24 to say that if Simion becomes the President of Romania, he will be a danger to the country's stability and security.
From Secret Documents to a Letter
On March 18, Marcel Ciolacu stated that he had seen "decisions," both for Moldova and Ukraine, saying they are "secret" and represent "a strong enough signal."
"I had those discussions, I received the documents, the documents have a secret regime. I saw the decisions, both of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, to maintain the ban on Mr. George Simion from entering Moldova and Ukraine. I think it is a strong enough signal for a politician to be banned at this moment from entering two neighboring countries," said Marcel Ciolacu, the Prime Minister of Romania at that time.
On November 16, pressured by his rivals Nicolae Ciucă (PNL) and Elena Lasconi (USR) to disclose information about Simion, Marcel Ciolacu once again comes forward and says he made efforts to clarify the situation of the AUR leader.
He makes no reference to the documents he previously claimed were secret in March and presents a letter from the Ukrainian government stating that Simion is banned from entering the country due to "anti-Ukrainian activities," whatever that may mean.
Simion Accused of Anti-Ukrainian Activities
"For a few days now, I have seen this pressure to find out what I received in my capacity as prime minister, directly or through the intelligence services of Romania, regarding the bans in the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine for George Simion," stated Marcel Ciolacu in response to accusations that he is using sensitive information to pave his way to the Cotroceni Palace.
"So I started the process. In the Republic of Moldova, the response was very simple, things and measures taken a few years ago were maintained, as if it was Dodon or whoever was the president, I do not know the whole history, so they did not provide additional information, and indeed, from Ukraine, I received a written response," Marcel Ciolacu further stated.
The response from the Ukrainian government states that: "This decision (ban) was made based on the information available regarding the systematic anti-Ukrainian activities of this politician, which are contrary to the national interests of Ukraine and undermine its sovereignty and territorial integrity."
From the situation created by the published document and the statements of the Prime Minister of Romania, the following conclusions emerge:
- Marcel Ciolacu continues to not tell the truth about George Simion. For example, in March, he declared that the documents were secret and serious, and now he is trying to mislead the public by claiming that the letter from the Ukrainian government is the same as the dossier seen half a year ago.
- Regardless of how the message from the Ukrainian government is viewed, a political leader in Romania is accused of activities against a neighboring state, invaded by Russia, the accusation indirectly indicating that he supports hostile actions of the Kremlin, at least in the view of the Ukrainian leadership.
- Marcel Ciolacu is guilty of protecting and favoring a major factor of vulnerability to Romania's security, especially in the context of the war in Ukraine and Russia's threats to Moldova's independence.
- As Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu was obligated to inform the competent institutions, file complaints with prosecutors, and take legal action against threats related to national security represented by George Simion, especially since he had been officially informed about the reasons for the two bans.
A Major Threat to Romania
It should also be noted that in the case of Senator Diana Șoșoacă, also an extremist political figure with visible ties to Russia, Marcel Ciolacu and the PSD supported and applauded the arbitrary decision of the CCR to prohibit her participation in the presidential race.
Thus, through a political maneuver, PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu supported George Simion, despite all evidence and alerts received regarding the security risk he poses to Romania, to maximize his chances of reaching the final round of the presidential race, being considered an easy prey by the head of the social democrats.
The brutal reshaping of Romania's political landscape to favor a party and a candidate has created one of the greatest threats to democracy since 1989, a crisis that today seems without solutions and even scares those who cynically put it into practice.