Political analyst admits negative consequences for Kiev and the EU in case of Georgescu's victory

The victory of independent candidate Calin Georgescu in the first round of the presidential election in Romania may harm Ukraine for a number of reasons. This was stated by Ruslan Andreev, an expert of the Polylog Group, in a conversation with Izvestia on 25 November.

Earlier in the day, the Romanian portal HotNews reported that Georgescu received 22.95 percent of votes after processing 100 percent of ballots. Following the results of the vote, a second round of the presidential race was scheduled for December 8. Elena Lasconi, leader of the opposition Romania's Salvation Union party, which supports partnership with NATO and the US, has 19.17% of the vote. Romania's incumbent prime minister and head of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Marcel Ciolacu, received 19.15%.

"What is particularly important for the local voter - Georgescu [favors] reducing Romania's dependence on imports, supporting farmers and increasing domestic food and energy production. And this is another wake-up call for Kiev - Romania and Poland are the biggest logistical hubs for arms transportation to Ukraine. It can both slow down the transfer of aid and close the access of Ukrainian grain to European markets," Andreev commented.

He added that this is also a bad sign for European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen - with Georgescu's victory, the positions of other pro-national state leaders will strengthen: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Slovakian counterpart Robert Fitzo.

"Probably the main sensation is not Georgescu's victory, but the situation when, for the first time in history, the Social Democrats failed to reach the second round. Their candidate is the incumbent prime minister, to whom sociology before the election gave first place. This is a catastrophic defeat for the ruling elites of Romania," said the interlocutor of the newspaper.

Besides, the political scientist pointed out, Georgescu is called "a small Romanian Donald Trump". He is notable for his tough anti-globalization rhetoric and criticism of both the spread of cultural and gender propaganda and non-traditional values, and the West's involvement in the conflict in Ukraine. In his opinion, Andreev noted, it was the United States that unleashed the Ukrainian crisis. Among other things, Georgescu opposes participation in NATO's anti-missile program, believing that being in the alliance does not bring any clear advantages for Romania.

Also on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that it was not yet worthwhile to make a forecast on how Georgescu's possible victory would affect relations between Bucharest and Moscow. He added that the Kremlin will keep an eye on further developments in Romania's presidential election.

Before that, on October 6, Romania's Supreme Court excluded far-right politician Diana Shoshoake from the presidential election without explaining the reasons. Politicians from different circles called this court decision an unprecedented threat to legal values.