At the Union Hora, organized by the followers of Călin Georgescu, I got into a mix of nationalist mysticism, conspiracy theories, false Russian narratives and the belief that the "president elect" is some kind of messianic figure who will turn Romania into another Dubai.
The Great Hora of the Union of the Nation and the descent of Călin Georgescu among Romanians
While everybody was watching, terrified, the inauguration of Donald Trump in the United States and the rise of the global extreme right, Călin Georgescu called on Romanians to start a hora. "Let's feel together the Unity, Harmony and Communion between us! (...) I will be there where we will unite in peace", he described the dance-and-music protest on January 24.
Since November, when Călin Georgescu won the first round of the presidential elections, Romania got divided into at least two camps. Those who "want their country back", on the one hand, and those who fear losing their freedom, on the other.
Călin Georgescu ended up being this unexpected hero of the people disappointed with the system. He identified their fears and mistrust of the system and exploited them to the point of absurdity. The formula had been successfully used by Diana Şoșoacă and George Simion, years before Georgescu was turned from a relatively marginal character into the great hope of the sovereignists. The difference between them and Georgescu is that the latter presents himself elegantly, tries to sound coherent and does not scream live on TikTok.
However, populism does not work from a distance only; the politicians who have taken it upon themselves to save the nation must, whether they like it or not, be seen among the people. And the "Great Hora of the Unity of the Nation" is a great opportunity to get down among the Romanians.
@Ariana Coman
"We're such fools, man!" The hora that never happened
I arrived at Tineretului Park a little before 1pm, when the event was supposed to start. I was already in the mood thanks to the Bolt driver, who kept one eye on the tablet the whole way, watching Realitatea TV streaming live from the location. Near the Children's Palace, traffic was already difficult. I got off at the crosswalk and walked towards the crowd.
A version of the song "Romania is Home" by Laura Olteanu could be heard from the speakers. People of all ages had crammed around the "Monument of the Romanian Military Heroes who Died in the Line of Duty" and on the steps of the Children's Palace: from old people with canes to children wrapped in the Romanian flag. At the entrance, someone had written on a poster: "One nation, one country, one border". Also, nearby, somebody was making an honest penny selling vuvuzelas.
Tricolor flags were pointing up from the crowd, waved frantically in the air and, in moments of inattention, at the people around. While waiting for Călin Georgescu, people were chanting "Georgescu" and "Second round, bring it back!". A few were trying to get as high as possible to see the "president-elect". Some on top of the monument or on the steps of the Children's Palace, others up on a block nearby.
The man known as the "Dacian Flag Bearer" also climbed the monument - a 57-year-old man with a long gray beard who appears at most far-right protests. It always waves a long flag and climbs the highest surfaces he can find. At the beginning of January, he climbed the building of the Bucharest University and alerted the entire Capital City Police.
@Ariana Coman
"The Union Hora" was part of the repertoire. From the crowd crammed into an area smaller than the concert hall in Control Club, an organizer called on us over the loudspeaker: "Join the hora”. As people flocked to join the dance, the same person shouted, “Don't push, get into the hora. I want a hora as wide as possible. Please don't push!"
Flags and placards with the names of the counties from which people had gathered were still sticking out of the crowd. To the left of the monument you could see as far as Bacău. On the right, Alba Iulia and Sebeș. From place to place, some were complaining about the organization. Next to me, a person summed up his experience: “We're so stupid, man! We are fools through and through!"
The "touch of angels", the "vote of the people", the sovereign wave and Emmanuel Macron’s secret
Soon the music stopped and the people, some still holding hands, quieted down. They started chanting again "Georgescu" and "Second round, bring it back".
"I'm going to assume that you've never experienced these moments created by the Union Hora before, where people rejoice like this," one woman told me after scolding me for calling the event a "protest." I found her near the monument, after the crowd of people had marched away blocking several streets to get to Victoria Square, despite the demands of the trade unionists who were already protesting there.
Alexandru was more or less of the same opinion. "We have come to enjoy this wonderful day together. And feel the excitement. This wave of enthusiasm has brought us every time."
He is 55 years old and came from Constanța to attend the hora which he described as "a touch of angels" – a phrase he knew from a book. "When it touches you once, it's something so gentle that you want it to happen again, never to end," he explained. This enthusiasm seems to have brought people to the demonstration: “It was a call. And you will see how more and more people will respond to his [Călin Georgescu's] calls ."
He also wanted to send a message to the authorities on this occasion: "Don't stand in the way of this wave. Respect people's vote." He told me that it is enough to make the call on social media groups and people come, from wherever they are. "And they can't do more to stop us than we can by getting united in a hora."
He believes that a well-made Romania is one that takes into account the interests of the people. Which gives hope and is no longer "obedient". He told me that this is what people see in Călin Georgescu: "a leader who woke them up, who resurrected them and who made them find their value and dignity". “And once they discover something like that, they can't be stopped”, he continued.
Before we parted, he also told me about other countries. "In France, Macron is going down because of some information that came out recently that his wife is a he. In Germany, a sovereignist party will also win. He who does not see these things is blind. These are the waves that will shape the future."
@Ariana Coman
"The Western colony" which is Romania will save itself by applying the "Georgescu model", as Dubai did
All the people I spoke to are convinced that the salvation they need comes from Călin Georgescu. "He has the spine, he has the courage, he told what was actually happening," explained an elderly woman, who stopped for the while in the park near the monument, after the demonstration. She also told me that she didn’t necessarily like Hungary's Orban, but she liked that he was fighting for his country. So did the “Polish” Fico.
She would like a president who would go to the leaders of the great powers and negotiate on equal footing. She told me that Călin Georgescu's whole speech was about "peace, no violence", unlike the other politicians from whom we could only hear "lie to that, hit that one ". "We only have a few years left, but you shouldn’t get used to living in this lie, hate and disinformation."
@Ariana Coman
Another woman, in her 70s, also came for the young people. "God help, let's change something for you." On the bench, next to her, there was a child, around 9 years old. The woman would often point at him when complaining about what was happening in Romania: from "pedophiles in the judiciary" to the problem of "multiple sexes".
She wants a better future for the next generation: for them to be able to stay in the country, have better wages and be satisfied with their jobs. However, she also believes that young people are "indoctrinated by universities".
And she is upset, just like Alexandru and the other woman, by the "obedience" of the Romanians. "The Austrians treated us like fools when they negotiated for Schengen."
@Ariana Coman
The narrative that "Romania is a Western colony", ruled and plundered by foreigners, was rolled by communist extremists and nostalgic since the first years after the Revolution and was later taken up by sovereigntists. And, what a coincidence, this is exactly one of the main narratives promoted by Russian and pro-Russian propaganda in most ex-communist and ex-Soviet countries, but also in the West; except that in those countries one cannot say that they are Western colonies, that would sound bizarre even for conspiracists, so you say that they are controlled by Brussels or Soros.
It's the type of narrative that doesn't need much to catch on with people, especially in Romania. Things go wrong and the human reaction is to blame someone or something.
In the same vein, a young woman, brunette and very vehement, told me that it was possible in other countries: they were sovereign and had money.
She gave me an example of a vacation she took to Dubai, "so the other world power, not NATO, America," she added. She discovered another world there. "There are no poor or homeless people there. Every child that is born is already rich. Everybody's got a job and everybody's happy and everybody's got houses and everybody's relaxed and having fun."
She also noticed that the oil costs “20 bani” and “water costs nothing”. Electricity also seems to be free. “How is that possible? By following the Georgescu model. Because he knows it very well. They shared all the wealth, with all the people, everybody’s happy so they all have money and it’s all happy, happy, joy, joy. It is possible!”
