The Romanian liberal battling pro-Putin candidate for presidency

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Romania’s last hope to prevent a pro-Russian ultranationalist from ascending to power is a liberal mayor campaigning to keep the country in Nato and the EU.

Just days before Sunday’s presidential election, opinion polls show Elena Lasconi trailing behind the previously unknown far-right candidate, Călin Georgescu.

“This is about the future of Romania,” Lasconi said. “At this critical moment for Romania . . . we need statesmen to keep Romania on its pro-European and pro-Nato democratic path.”

Lasconi, a member of the liberal USR party and currently mayor of Câmpulung in central Romania, entered politics in 2020 after a career in journalism that included war reporting. She emerged as a surprise runner-up after narrowly edging out Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in the first round of the presidential vote last month.

All pro-western parties with the exception of Ciolacu’s Social Democratic party (PSD) have backed Lasconi. But the premier on Monday said it was up to voters to make up their mind and choose between Georgescu and Lasconi.

With the PSD emerging as the largest force in parliamentary elections last week — followed by the far-right AUR party, which endorsed Georgescu — it is the rural and working-class voters Lasconi needs to become president.

In a bid to appeal to the PSD’s elderly and religious base, who have indicated they would rather back Georgescu, Lasconi on Sunday said she went to a monastery to “pray for democracy” after casting her ballot in the parliamentary vote.

A survey published on Monday by Curs, which is close to the PSD, puts Georgescu at 58 per cent while Lasconi would secure 42 per cent of the vote. PSD voters were split 60-40 in favour of Georgescu, the poll showed.

“I’m going to vote with Lasconi,” Ciolacu’s chief of cabinet, Mihai Ghigiu, told the Financial Times. “A lesser of two evils, for sure. But I’m almost sure that Georgescu will be the new president because the majority of our members . . . will not vote. The ones that will are insufficient for her.”

When the Constitutional Court ordered a recount of the votes cast in the first round of presidential elections, Lasconi said it was “the desperation of a system that does not know how to lose” — alluding to PSD-appointed judges on the top court. She urged them to certify the results and stop playing “Russian roulette with democracy” — a step they took on Monday after the recount showed no significant differences to the original tally.

A Georgescu win would put yet another Russia-friendly politician at odds with Brussels, mirroring the leaders of Hungary and Slovakia at a time when both Nato and the EU are grappling with how to continue support for Ukraine once Donald Trump returns to the White House in January.

The Romanian presidency, modelled on the French system, has more powers than in neighbouring countries. The president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, chairs the security council and represents the country at EU summits.

Lasconi, 52, has cast her bid as that of a trailblazer who also embodies the last chance for liberal democracy to prevail against an increasingly interventionist Russia.

“If you only knew how many times in life I’ve been told I wouldn’t make it, just because I’m a woman,” Lasconi wrote on Facebook in a post endorsed by other female leaders. “The messages of women leaders of the European Union give me strength and confidence to go on my path, which is also yours: a European path.”

Georgescu, who praised Vladimir Putin a few days after the Russian president ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, last week has sought to reassure voters he would not take Romania out of Nato and the EU. He has campaigned almost exclusively on social media, with his videos going viral after mimicking Putin in martial arts attire, riding on a white horse and swimming in icy waters.

Former PSD premier Victor Ponta said he will vote for Georgescu, as will “most of the PSD voters”, because of the constant attacks levelled by Lasconi’s party against his.

He was not swayed by Lasconi’s warnings of her opponent taking Romania off its pro-western track, calling it “propaganda”. Ponta also contrasted his country with neighbouring Moldova, where Russia interfered in a referendum on EU membership and a presidential election earlier this year.

“We are not Moldova,” Ponta said. “Moldova was in real danger of choosing the east instead of the west. Romania will not leave Nato or the EU, with or without Georgescu.”

In campaign videos, Lasconi has indeed articulated a pro-Europe message to distinguish herself. “Some want to get us out of the EU,” she said, pointing to millions of Romanians living in western Europe. “Let’s not allow our families to fall apart . . . come out to vote to prevent this.”