Donald Trump will most likely postpone indefinitely the final act in the lengthy process of lifting visas. Additionally, he will be able to use the moment, with March 31 being the deadline by which he must make a decision, for himself or his associates to once again criticize Romania and claim that it is „not a functional democracy” because it blocked Russia’s candidate from becoming president.
Hard to find opposing arguments, and that last-minute blocking of the electoral process by a decision made by the Constitutional Court will be a burden on the country’s shoulders for a long time.
Many of us are devastated by the abrupt and brutal change that has occurred in the USA, a major power in which millions of Romanian citizens from all social strata, as well as the majority of political leaders, military personnel, and business people in the country had placed their trust.
Those who were surprised by the attacks of JD Vance, those of Trump JR. and Elon Musk towards Romania must know that they would have occurred even if the elections had not been annulled.
It was not the blocking of Călin Georgescu that was a problem for the Trump administration, but the role played by our country in the region after Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine.
Who Has Provoked the Kremlin's Wrath?
Romania, after February 24, 2022, became an enemy to Russia. And this did not happen following a decision made by Iohannis or the government, but as a result of an unprecedented national solidarity shown by millions of Romanians who rushed to help the Ukrainians cruelly attacked by the Kremlin's army.
Some may have forgotten, but the support initiative for Kiev's resistance against Putin's tanks came from the general public in our country, not from authorities, not from Iohannis or Nicolae Ciucă, the prime minister at the time.
For almost a week, the government had no reaction, waiting to see which way the wind was blowing, a cowardly attitude raised to the level of national policy by generation after generation of statesmen.
The first actions began only after hundreds of non-governmental organizations and thousands of citizens got involved to help Ukrainian refugees.
In my opinion, it was the moment when Kremlin officials dealing with Romania realized how deep the rejection reaction towards Russia is in our country, even though since 2014, immediately after the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, propaganda operations, dissemination of false information, recruitment of politicians, journalists, and opinion leaders, launched by Russia, have been carried out here as well as in other European states.
It was the moment when in Moscow, in the context of tensions caused by the military conflict in Ukraine, the decision was made to intensify to the maximum the hybrid warfare operations.
A Catastrophic Strategy
I don't believe Romania was the only country targeted by Russia's tactics. There are indications and plenty of evidence that the Baltic states, Moldova, Poland, Bulgaria, Sweden, Finland, and others were also targeted.
What set Romania apart from all the other hybrid attacked countries by Russia was Klaus Iohannis' decision to classify all actions supporting Ukraine, both military and economic, as well as abandoning strategic communication - a necessary one given that the largest military conflict since World War II was unfolding at the border.
The two decisions made by the former president proved catastrophic for Romania's security. The secrecy surrounding the authorities' actions led to an explosion of speculation, conspiracy theories, and heightened population fear, vulnerabilities exploited to the maximum by Kremlin agents who launched an unprecedented attack to erode citizens' trust in authorities, particularly on social media.
The void created by the lack of strategic communication was filled by the Kremlin with false, alarmist information, hate speech, and propaganda, a destructive process that, in less than a year, generated a wave of "support" for Russia that did not exist in Romania before.
Although there were experts, journalists, military personnel, and political commentators who warned of the catastrophe, Iohannis remained steadfast and continued along the path of blocking communication between authorities and citizens on the topic of the war in Ukraine.
Crisis Response
The climax was reached at the beginning of August 2023, when Russian drones crashed on Romanian territory, and the government and army representatives announced that nothing had happened, initially hiding the remnants of the aircraft to avoid being discovered by journalists or locals.
It was the beginning of the downfall that caused a large part of public opinion to turn against the authorities, and consequently, Russia's position was strengthened in Romania.
The state's timid actions, lack of initiative, and the collapse of the political system continued until November 24, 2024, when the first round of presidential elections took place.
In my view, the fact that a candidate known at the state level to have been an SIE agent, being under Kremlin's influence for at least a decade, won over 2 million votes was shocking.
It is still unknown who sounded the alarm, who prompted Iohannis to finally act, and who devised the plan, but it was a crisis response, rushed, and the full extent of the damages caused is still not known.
What can be said, however, is that an existential danger for Romania was averted, with serious implications for the European Union.
The Motive, Russia
Călin Georgescu, reaching the Cotroceni Palace, would have represented a geostrategic catastrophe, setting aside the economic crisis, inflation, strikes, unemployment, and protests that would have plagued the country for years, it would have been about the possible collapse of Ukraine and Moldova, but also an unprecedented threat to Europe's security.
Donald Trump, at least until now, is perfectly aligned with Putin's interests, which means that Romania will continue to be seen in Washington with much less sympathy than before. We already feel this firsthand.
The good news is that nowadays, things change rapidly, and dictatorships and authoritarian regimes can collapse from one day to the next. Democracies, despite their imperfections, are much more resilient and have a regenerative power that no other political system has - from religious fundamentalism (Iran) to luminous autocracy (China, Turkey, Hungary).
It is possible that Trump and his associates will continue to attack Romania, but the new chaotic administration in Washington is rapidly losing global influence and popular support, so the attacks will have a diminishing impact until they disappear.
On the other hand, Romania needs to wake up, and those holding positions in the state are obliged to take on responsibilities.
Not only a change of leadership is needed, but also a change in attitude. In addition to the expected institutional reform, a maturation of those involved in politics is necessary.
Prime ministers and ministers who do not understand the international context, do not read intelligence reports, do not react to threats against the country, and moreover, use what they learn for their own benefit should disappear from the scene.
The annulment of the elections was an extreme measure that called into question democracy in Bucharest, but it is not the reason why, today, Trump does not want to hear about Romania. The reason is Russia, the special relationship the American president has with Vladimir Putin.
We, the people in the country, are once again more victims of history than of our own mistakes and weaknesses, and the main fault lies with those who have led us and continue to lead us by not preparing us for such a moment, concealing the fact that we are under Russia's attack, and for years not reacting.