In a video intended to be humorous, from the „listen and don’t judge” repertoire of a social network otherwise demonized after November 24, Alfred Simonis, current president of CJ Timiș and former president of the Chamber of Deputies, confesses to Marcel Ciolacu that all PSD members voted for George Simion on November 24 to advance to the second round.
Since we do not suspect they did it out of genuine sympathy for George Simion, it is evident that the goal was to propel the AUR leader into the second round, ensuring an ideal final for Marcel Ciolacu.
Electoral Fraud as a Joke
So, Mr. Simonis confesses to Marcel Ciolacu that, despite his will, because the center must remain immaculate, PSD manipulated the presidential elections. Because fraud does not only mean distorting the voting result in the counting and centralization process, but also manipulating the electorate before and during the elections.
And such an act is of immense gravity, not a joke to be confessed lightly, alongside the innocent lie about receiving oversized shoes as a gift. For such an act, you disappear from politics, you may even face a criminal investigation.
Not only did they manipulate the elections, but they also treat the act lightly, as if it were a childish mistake, regretting only the outcome, not the alteration of the electoral process. The effect of stepping on a rake, self-faulting, does not diminish the seriousness of the act.
Prior to the election, we received information from various sources that PSD was preparing this maneuver, a plan also acknowledged by George Becali. I refused to believe it, relying not on honesty, I'm not naive, but on minimal intelligence. The PSD candidate was leading, but not by an overwhelming margin, and entering the final with as high a score as possible was important for the mobilization and morale for the parliamentary elections.
I admit my mistake in not being able to conceive that the leaders of a party with experience, with many electoral battles under their belt, could be so foolish. Well, I was wrong, they are.
To donate, based on all the information, around 150 thousand votes nationwide and to lose entry into the final by 3 thousand votes is a display of unprecedented electoral stupidity.
The String of Absurdities
But that was not the only foolishness. The horrifying political situation we find ourselves in was the result of a string of absurdities, starting with rescheduling the presidential elections, the consolidation in June that masked electoral anger, and, especially, the elimination of Diana Șoșoacă from the race.
Did anyone imagine then that Diana Șoșoacă's voters would flock to George Simion, despite the evident animosity between the two leaders and their electorates? Breaking the Șoșoacă bubble and the frustration caused by that decision were at the root of Călin Georgescu's rise.
But PNL also contributed to the disaster. Not only with the weakest possible candidate, with the most inept campaign possible, but also with the strange endorsement by Călin Georgescu of paid TikTok promotion for Mr. Ciucă.
Whether it was the folly of not noticing this diversion, highly unlikely though, or the folly of a voluntary action by which the PNL extremist intended to disrupt the plan with the PSD extremist, most likely, it's all despicable foolishness.
As the fact is that when the BEC ordered Călin Georgescu to withdraw all campaign materials that did not have the unique identification code received from the AEP, the one who jumped to his defense was none other than Nicolae Ciucă. We are also waiting for Messrs. Ciucă and Rareș Bogdan on TikTok with full confessions.
People with such limited foresight, with so much strategic and tactical evaluation capacity, with such morality, have had and some still have Romania in their hands, leading it according to their mental capabilities.
Is the Cîrstoiu Scenario Repeating Itself?
Of course, the question remains why Marcel Ciolacu and Alfred Simonis felt the need to formalize PSD's electoral fraud. There could be several explanations, but all essentially relate, probably, to Marcel Ciolacu's image and position.
What the game of confessions without consequences conveys is that Marcel Ciolacu did not miss the final, so he is not a loser, but a victim of the strategic mistake of the other leaders. And, equally important, that he was unaware of this strategic mistake, or even that it was committed in violation of his requests not to donate any votes. Which is very hard to believe.
Why did he need this double cleansing? Certainly to maintain his position as president of the PSD, a party that has mercilessly devoured its losers so far. The PSD must see in him a privately victorious one stupidly deprived of victory because of others. Which others? Everyone, says Simonis. And when everyone is to blame, no one is to blame.
What caliber does a leader have when the party disregards his decisions on such a scale and with such effects is another discussion, which, however, will not be opened as long as the PSD does not have someone smoother, who has not been involved in this electoral mess.
There could also be some electoral explanations. Either Mr. Ciolacu has not given up on the idea of a candidacy, or he wants to lend a helping hand to Nicușor Dan, again after the local elections, questioning the real qualification of Mrs. Lasconi for the final and, therefore, the strong argument he has in competing with the general mayor for the USR electorate.
If so, it would mean that the scenario of Cătălin Cîrstoiu will repeat itself with Crin Antonescu very soon. And the announcement of the common candidate regarding the unilateral suspension of the candidacy shows that he also expects this, in fact.