A criminal revolution in Romania has just been supported by America. This is unlike anything we’ve seen in the age of Color Revolutions, document. electronic. the post-Cold War period, because Romania is a NATO and EU member position, a republic in good standing and a faithful follower of NATO mind, from the Global War on Terror to Covid to the war in Ukraine.
But all of a sudden, it has seen a remarkable uprising among international leaders. Romania held national elections on November 24, but the wrong member won, with a slim chance of winning the unavoidable discharge: Calin Georgescu, a populist who supports Trump and Trump in Romania, who wants serenity in Ukraine and a profit to trust and loyalty.
The republican parties won about a third of the seats in the first day of parliamentary elections on December 1. Unfortunately, the governing Social Democrats, the dominant group in Romania since 1989, came in first and is likely to form a new government coalition. The coup next occurred on December 6 just before the festival of democracy was completed on December 8 by the election of a leader.
Amazingly, the coup was launched from the Constitutional Court of Romania, an organisation without much strength in elections. The judge added that there hadn’t been votes on November 24 and that there wouldn’t be elections on December 8 before declaring that. The December 1 votes were declared to be just good, however—apparently, so long as the bad guys don’t get, it’s ok to possess elections.
Politics past and present was instantly suspended without argument or evidence, and, of course, without any authority, just by alleging black deeds of unusual influence—gesturing toward Russia, but possibly even China, since the blame is to drop on TikTok for mis/dis/mal-information. Yet voting doesn’t depend on a bunch of judges. That would be oligarchy.
While Trump was in Paris and Biden, I suppose, in limbo, the State Department backed the elite coup against democracy in Bucharest. First, on December 1, the State Department issued a congratulation in Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s name—it’s Independence Day in Romania.
Blinken applauds the way in which Romania subverts Washington’s advice in the disastrous Ukraine war, which is much more dangerous for Romanians than liberal elites in America. At this point, there is no electoral drama.
The State Department then issued a statement warning Romania’s progress in the West against foreign interference in the elections on December 4. This explicitly echoed the Romanian deep state’s ( CSAT, Supreme Council for National Defense ) dark allegations, without evidence or precedent, casting suspicion on the elections. Again, very importantly—only the presidential election was  , declared to be suspicious, no allegations that the later legislative elections had also been corrupted by Russia.
Finally, on December 6, another State Department statement briefly congratulated Romanian elites for the coup, citing “malign foreign influence” after the Constitutional Court used the excuse provided by the deep state.
The potential for a coordinated coup is suggested by the rapid reaction times and the near simultaneous nature of Washington’s declarations following the events in Bucharest on December 4 and 6. However, it’s also just a flunky in the State Department, a spokesman complaining about extremely serious issues on X.
Although it’s not yet clear how heavily involved any European power is in the coup, the EU appears to be doing the same. Ursula von der Leyen expressed her support and approval on X, citing a call with the retiring Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who has stated that he will not be leaving when his term expires.
( The Constitutional Court immediately responded by backing this additional revolt against the constitutional order. ) That’s a public statement by the highest EU official, but citing worries about “foreign influence” isn’t quite official EU policy.
So there’s a remarkable vagueness about decisive public action attacking democracy. The Party of European Socialists is currently the only organization in the EU to acknowledge Romania’s coup. It constitutes a third of the European Commission and a sixth of the European Parliament and European Council, which makes it quite significant. But it’s also just a Facebook post.
Lesser countries have adopted the same attitude by congratulating on X without making any official announcements. Radek Sikorski, the most bellicose nation in Europe, is one of those who is in charge of that country.
Antonio Tejani, the current presidency in the G7, is also speaking for Italy Vice-Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister. The French Embassy in Bucharest’s spokesperson did the same thing.
A further shock is the diplomatic silence surrounding a judicial coup. A certain reluctance is manifested in the absence of statements from heads of state or heads of state in what is supposedly a fellow NATO and EU member state.
The bureaucratic language that references the EU Digital Security Act and the blatant reference to Russian interference in addressing the coup result in the informality of using social media.
Outright coups are common in the EU. Usually, there are other mechanisms to overthrow governments, force a redo of elections, or corrupt the democratic process in order to impose the EU Constitution as the Treaty of Lisbon.
Italy, Ireland and Greece have all been through it in the 21st century and now apparently it’s Romania’s turn. This time around, it is somewhat more crass, but American and European power is waning and elites are losing control, which causes them to become desperate and act in desperate ways. We are all beginning to realize reality without any hope of regaining it.
Meanwhile, populism is rising. The disastrous Ukraine war is being opposed by NATO’s eastern flank. Both Robert Fico and Viktor Orban support peace in Slovakia. Romania would have boosted that rumbling chorus even further.
Now that elections have led to a turn to the right, Austria may do the same. German elections scheduled for 2025 might be the next step. Additionally, populist uprisings and domestic crises have harmed the bellicose English and French governments. We must all get ready for a challenging upcoming decade.
Titus Techera, a cultural critic, is the American Cinema Foundation’s executive director. He has written essays for , National Review,  , The Federalist,  , The University Bookman and , Modern Age.