Why China’s TikTok is under fire as Romania cancels presidential run-off
Front runner Calin Georgescu, a far-right candidate with pro-Russian and anti-Nato views, is accused of gaining from viral TikTok drive
A run-off had been scheduled for Sunday, in which Calin Georgescu, a far-right candidate with pro-Russian and anti-Nato views, had been favoured to win, in what would have been the latest shock to establishment politics across the West.
Georgescu’s views on geopolitics and economics, along with his embrace of conspiracy theories, have made waves across Europe, in a week that the French government fell under pressure from the far-left and right, and a month after the German one collapsed.
Georgescu has vowed to pull Romania’s support for Ukraine and repair ties with Russia, China and Hungary. He has vowed to nationalise public utilities and push out foreign investors. He has also endorsed a series of conspiracy theories, including one stating that the bubbles in fizzy drinks contain nanochips that “enter you like a laptop”.
He came from obscurity to win November’s first round and, despite the controversies, had held a healthy lead ahead of Sunday’s run-off. However, the court on Friday annulled “the entire electoral process regarding the election of the president of Romania”, leaving the whole process in limbo.
