Dem
47
GOP
53
Quite a few countries are moving to the right, with nationalist populist anti-immigrant candidates doing well in various countries, even if they don't ultimately take power (this time). There are strong movements in Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, and elsewhere.
In a complete surprise, in yesterday's elections in Romania, a hard-right ultranationalist populist, Calin Georgescu, came from nowhere to come in first in the presidential election. He got 22.95% of the vote, beating reformist candidate Elena Lasconi (19.17%) and center-left Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu (19.15%). This could change as the last votes are counted, but it is an upheaval, and another sign that people everywhere are unhappy with the status quo and want radical change. Since no candidate got 50%, there will be a top-two runoff on Dec. 8.
Georgescu said he admires Hungary and described Vladimir Putin as a man who loves his country. He campaigned on TikTok, where he made fiery messianic speeches.
Georgescu has some parallels with the Dutch politician Geert Wilders. In both cases, they are not leaders of an existing political party. They are simply free agents who want change. Wilders is more of a single issue politician. He opposes Islam and Muslims and wants to close mosques and ban the Koran. Georgescu is an all-around right winger on everything, not just on immigration.
It should be noted that the president of Romania is kind of like King Charles III. He is the official head of state, but has no real political power. That is held by the prime minister. Still, Romanians' willingness to support a right-wing populist, even for a job without any real power, could be a harbinger for future elections and shows that people in many countries are unhappy with how things are going and want serious changes. Donald Trump's victory should be seen in the light that when people are unhappy, they want change (everywhere), and he was the change candidate, even with all his flaws. (V)