EUROPE/ROMANIA - Romania: Cultural Invasion, Vast Military Expenses, Democracy Cancelled

by Victor Gaetan*

“The innocent pay for war, the innocent…Let us think about this reality and say to each other: war is madness. And those who profit from war and the arms trade are thugs who kill humanity.” Pope Francis, 2022

“Every gun is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies... a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed... The cost of one heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities...We pay for a single fighter plane with a half million bushels of wheat...This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron.” Dwight Eisenhower, 1953

Bucarest (Fides News Agency) - Just 48 hours before Romania’s December 8 presidential election, the sitting government announced the election was cancelled. The country’s diaspora—some 8 million people living abroad—had already begun voting.

The sitting president, Klaus Iohannis, vaguely referred to foreign interference as the reason for the shocking and undemocratic order—a charge first launched publicly by U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken who claimed, “Romanian authorities are uncovering a Russian effort — large in scale and well-funded — to influence the recent presidential election.” To date, no concrete evidence has been produced of Russian involvement.

What we see in Romania is a case study: cultural invasion followed by a captured political elite doing the bidding of foreign interests bent on turning the country into a launching pad for potential expansion of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. What got in the way?

An Orthodox candidate, Calin Georgescu, who makes peace a central platform of his candidacy. Unfortunately, peace has become a dangerous goal for a NATO country with long borders with Ukraine to the north and east.

Christianity in Romania has been admired by the last three popes in part for how it helped people survive Communism. Now, people of faith are challenging the attempted cultural and military takeover of their homeland by NATO and the European Commission.

Highlighted by Popes

Romania was the first Orthodox-majority country visited by a pope when Pope John Paul II spent three days as Patriarch Teoctist’s guest in the capital city of Bucharest in 1999. It was a magical pilgrimage, in part because the two religious leaders were already friends: Teoctist was a Vatican guest in Rome almost a full year before Romania’s 1989 Christmas revolution.

Anticipating his voyage, John Paul II studied Romanian for months, so he could deliver messages in the local language, conveying cultural closeness. It was a relevant effort because historically, especially before Communism took over in 1948, the Romanian Orthodox Church and Greek Catholic Church worked closely together—even shaping the creation of “Greater Romania” in 1918 after World War I.

Pope Francis visited Romania in 2019 in part out of admiration for the multi-ethnic, multi-religious harmony achieved there, in contrast with neighboring Ukraine. Standing with Romanian Orthodox Patriarch Daniel in the world’s largest Orthodox cathedral, the pope asked God to help the two faith communities find "unprecedented ways of sharing and of mission."

Christian Winner

So, many Catholics in Romania and abroad (about 1.4 million people) were excited at the unexpected victory of an independent with no political affiliation, Călin Georgescu, age 62, in the country’s presidential election round #1 on November 24 because he centers the importance of Christian faith in bringing about a national renaissance—and his vision is ecumenical.

On December 18, the country’s National Day of Minorities, he wrote on social media, “I guarantee to all ethnic communities that no one will ever treat you like secondary citizens of this country…Just as we respect any religion, we respect any ethnic community.…your identity and mother tongue will always be guaranteed.”

Georgescu has a family connection to the Catholic Church via his uncle, artist Aurelian Bucataru, who painted the interior of St Joseph's Cathedral where both Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis offered Mass.

Love is a central theme in his electoral campaign. Prominently posted on the candidate’s website is the declaration: "When the power to love overcomes the love of power, we will be able to be reborn as a nation." He is adamant that too little has been done to negotiate an end to the war in neighboring Ukraine.

Georgescu is a scientist, environmentalist, and expert in sustainable development, who represented Romania in various United Nations fora (1996-2013) including an appointment as special rapporteur to investigate how nuclear testing on the Marshall Islands created long-term negative health impacts for local people. While serving on the Club of Rome’s executive committee (2013-2021), Georgescu collaborated with the Community of Sant’Egidio.

He criticizes the transfer of national resources to foreign interests, growing poverty, and the “woke” ideology that prioritized LGBT issues over the needs of families—all stands that have gained him support.

Georgescu is president of a non-profit organization, Asociația Pământul Strămosesc (Land of Our Ancestors Association), dedicated to “small farmers, rural households, arts and crafts, family and faith.” Among many projects to help villages with limited resources, the association used traditional materials to repair an unusable drinking well at a Greek Catholic Church in Tauni (comuna Valea Lunga, judetul Alba), a place where the church is a centerpiece of village life. Children in traditional costumes attended the well’s re-dedication. [See photos].

Coup d’Etat by Political Elite

Calm, dignified, and open hearted, Călin Georgescu has a relevant international network and deep national roots. Isn’t this the profile for an ideal president? Romanian voters thought so, giving him 23 percent, the highest rank in the first round of elections on November 24, catapulting him into a final election on December 8 against a more liberal candidate Elena Lasconi.

Except suddenly, the U.S. Government began complaining loudly about “outside interference.” The Europe Commission was also unhappy. And presto, just a day later, on St. Nicholas Day, Romania’s Constitutional Court (a panel of nine who aren’t professional judges) appointed by ruling parties, cancelled the country’s presidential election.

Both Georgescu and Lasconi condemned the election cancellation. Georgescu was especially careful to warn his supporters not to go out to the streets which could easily be manipulated into violence. Meanwhile, European officials were silent witnesses to the subversion of democracy. Further, Georgescu’s electricity and internet were abruptly cut off for four days. His followers were detained and interrogated, their homes raided, and had their bank accounts blocked-- intimidation used by repressive regimes.

It was an unprecedented and indubitably undemocratic move, exercised by an unpopular incumbent, who supported the decision with “declassified” documents alleging manipulation by a “state actor” via TikTok. (Iohannis has held office since 2014. The Romanian constitution says his mandate can only be extended beyond two five-year terms, by law, in cases of war or disaster.)

Georgescu has been harshly smeared in Western press as a “far right NATO critic” (CNN), “a hard-right, self-styled outsider critical of NATO” (Reuters) “the fringe nationalist politician” (BBC), and "an extreme right-wing independent with fundamentalist Christian Orthodox, pro-Russian esoteric views" (Deutche Welle). Since when has Christian belief become synonymous with extremism?

Within weeks, with zero evidence of Russian interference, officials from a state agency, charged with investigating possible electoral fraud, began leaking what they did find: evidence that the main entity paying hundreds of thousands of euros to about 100 TikTok influencers to promote Georgescu’s platform was … the National Liberal Party (PNL), the sitting president’s political party.
The scheme was supposedly hatched to draw conservative voters to Georgescu away from another sovereigntist candidate to benefit the president’s candidate entry into the second round.

Russia–Russia or NATO-EU?

Yet, the current president, Klaus Iohannis, who illegitimately holds onto power and the U.S. ambassador have made media appearances defending electoral sabotage. The chair of the NATO military committee, Admiral Rob Bauer kept advancing the Russian interference narrative even after news circulated of the PNL TikTok tactics. “What we see, across the alliance as a whole, more and more Russian actions, things like airspace violations, disinformation, cyber-attacks … We have to be very vigilant together.”
With absolutely no evidence of Russian subversion, suddenly, Western leaders are claiming credit: Strangely, a former European Union commissioner bragged on French TV this week [1/9]: “We did it in Romania, and we will do it in Germany if necessary."

What many increasingly link is Romania’s geographic position bordering Ukraine, both north and at the Black Sea, and NATO’s intention to control Romanian politics to maximize its use of the country.

NATO’s Goals

Ominously titled “How Romania is Preparing for Full Scale War Against Russia,” a YouTube video posted on Dec. 22 explains how “Romania might become NATO’s secret weapon” on behalf of Ukraine. Produced by The Military Show with 1.29 million subscribers, it seems to be a reputable source and it’s getting wide circulation in Romania.

The video reports on the country’s major weapons purchases as part of a plan to turn the country into an aerial power. New missile batteries and mobile command centers will mean 16 missiles can be launched at once. Romania’s Ministry of Defense confirms military exercises called Dacian Spring 2025 will bring, for the first time, brigade-level French forces to the country.

In fact, Georgescu’s greatest political “sin” seems to be his opposition to Romania’s involvement in the chaos, death, and destruction next door. Asked by BBC if his country should provide more military support for Ukraine he replied, "Zero. Everything stops. I must take care just of my people. We have a lot of problems ourselves." His position aligns with the Catholic idea of subsidiarity and local decision making

Vast Weapons Purchases

As Georgescu and his team challenge the undemocratic decision in courts, his supporters continue to grow. Although Christian Churches in Romania are careful to avoid politics, individual priests of all denominations have expressed support for his spirit and dedication to the needs of regular people.

Most people see a link between the rapid buildup of troops in Romania, the NATO member with the longest border with Ukraine, and the West’s refusal to allow a president seeking peace and national sovereignty to be elected.

Over the last two years, the Romanian government went on a military spending spree that included $1 billion for US-made tanks and $7.2 billion for 32 American F-35s in October — the most expensive weapons purchase in the country’s history.

In 2024, the country’s military spending increased by 45 percent to $21 billion USD. Some expenses are tied to construction of the largest NATO military base in Europe —near the Black Sea and close to the Romania-Ukraine border—expected to house 10,000 NATO soldiers and their families. Last September, Romania got a $920 USD loan from the US government at a staggering 36 percent interest rate!

Romania had the highest inflation rate in the EU and skyrocketing national debt—which leads to a loss of sovereignty. Last month, the international rating agency, Fitch, downgraded the country from stable to negative. Meanwhile, over 20 percent of the population lives below the poverty line; the country’s minimum wage is among the lowest in the EU, causing millions to seek work abroad.

As one seasoned diplomat asked rhetorically: "Do military strategists realize that spoiling a country's resources, and bringing mass popular discontent, guarantees catastrophic results?”

Cultural Invasion precedes military expansion.

“Cultural invasion” is a useful concept for describing how one group undermines the culture of another by, often subtly, and continuously, imposing an alien worldview. Brazilian Catholic thinker Paulo Freire used the term in research on education, but it has become widely used in analyzing negative aspects of globalization.

Alvaro De Orleans-Borbon is an astute analyst of international events. A scientist related to royal families in France, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria—and Romania—he provided an insightful assessment of what is happening in a country such as Romania.

“There are two types of invasions that can have a profound impact on a country,” he explained. “One is a military invasion as Russia invaded Ukraine. But before that, you had a different type of invasion which is a cultural invasion, and it is still something that the country on its own would not desire except that some external actor tries to profoundly influence it in favor of its own interests.”

Polls show Romanians are furious that their presidential election was stolen. When over 100,000 people protested in Bucharest’s streets on Sunday [1/12], many crosses could be seen among the national flags—signifying hope for a vision Orthodox Patriarch Daniel shared with Pope Francis in 2019 of Orthodox and Catholic believers uniting “to defend and promote the faith in Christ and the Christian values in a very secular Europe, in order to convey to the younger generation the faith in the merciful love of Christ for the world and the faith in the eternal life of the human person.” (Agenzia Fides, 14/1/2025)

*Victor Gaetan is a senior correspondent for the National Catholic Register, focusing on international issues. He also writes for Foreign Affairs magazine and contributed to Catholic News Service. He is the author of the book God’s Diplomats: Pope Francis, Vatican Diplomacy, and America’s Armageddon (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021) second edition in paperback in July 2023. Visit his website at VictorGaetan.org

Share:

ecumenicalism

---

---

orthodoxy

---

---

geopolitics

---

---

pope francis

---

---

democracy

---

---

weapons

---

---