Presidential elections: Mircea Geoană and the shadows of the past

The former deputy general secretary of NATO, Mircea Geoană, aged 66, announced yesterday, through a video message posted on social networks, his candidacy, as an independent, in the presidential elections, the rounds of which are scheduled to take place on November 24 and December 8.

In his candidacy announcement, Mircea Geoană expressed his vision for Romania, emphasizing the need for a deep change in the country's leadership: "I am running for the presidency because I know we need a real change! I could promise you a perfect country. Let me pose as the perfect politician, tell you all your problems will disappear overnight. But we all know that's not the reality. (...) Romania does not need perfection; it needs leaders who listen, understand and act professionally."

Although he wants to pose as a new type of leader, who has all the necessary characteristics to occupy the position of president of Romania, Mircea Geoană is not a new name in Romanian politics. His activity in the public sphere dates back several decades and includes important positions, such as that of Ambassador of Romania to the United States and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the PSD government led by Adrian Năstase. In 2004, he ran for the General City Hall of the Capital on the PSD side, but was defeated by Traian Băsescu. A year later, in 2005, he became the PSD president after defeating Ion Iliescu.

The culmination of his political career was recorded during the presidential elections of 2009, when, as a PSD candidate, he reached the second round, where he lost to Traian Băsescu in a confrontation marked by controversy.

• Corruption scandals and relations with Moscow

Mircea Geoană's political career has some controversial points, as he has been involved over the years in several scandals that have resulted in a decrease in public confidence in him.

One of the biggest scandals was the one related to his brother-in-law, Ionuţ Costea, who was sentenced in 2023 to six years in prison for his involvement in a corruption case related to the rehabilitation of the Bucharest-Constanţa railway. Costea, who is the brother of Mihaela Geoană, was found guilty in the bribery case of 20 million euros that the Austrian company Swietelsky gave to Romanian officials and influential people, in order to ensure the conclusion of contracts and the payment of bills for the rehabilitation of the Bucharest-Constanţa railway section. Although Mircea Geoană was not directly involved in this case, the family connection raised questions.

In another scandal, in 2019, DNA prosecutors dismissed the charges against Mircea Geoană, after he had been denounced by the former head of the Fiscal, Şerban Pop, for "using his influence" in the 2008 election campaign. Although the charges were time-barred , the incident continued to be a stain on his reputation.

Another controversial episode in Geoană's career was his unofficial visit to Moscow in the spring of 2009, more precisely on April 27, where he secretly met with one of the advisors of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The meeting raised questions about his relations with influential circles in Russia, although Mircea Geoană did not provide detailed public explanations of his discussions with Kremlin officials. According to a telegram sent by the US Embassy in Bucharest to the State Department, a document that was revealed following the Wikileaks scandal, Mircea Geoană would have traveled to Moscow on a plane provided by Sorin Ovidiu Vântu. In another telegram, from 2008, American officials cite a one-word characterization made by British colleagues of Mircea Geoană: "Woobly". In translation, unstable.

Regarding the unofficial visit from Moscow, Cristian Diaconescu, who was foreign minister in April 2009, declared for Hotnews that he provided Geoană with a visit file, i.e. an assessment of the state regarding the bilateral relations between Romania and the Russian Federation . Cristian Diaconescu specified for the cited source: "I don't know who he met; precisely because it is an unofficial visit, the state institutions are not interested in the program, the agenda, the level of meetings. As Mr. Geoană was both the president of the Senate and a member of the CSAT at that time, it was the duty of the MAE to ensure this information base".

In December 2009, Geoană lost the presidential elections in the second round, in front of Traian Băsescu, following the visit that the PSD candidate made, the night before the last electoral debate, to the controversial Sorin Ovidiu Vântu, the one who was convicted in several criminal cases, being also involved in the scandal of the collapse of the FNI. The meeting between Geoană and Vântu was revealed by Traian Băsescu exactly during the electoral debate between the two, meeting who was intensively publicized, seriously affecting the image of the current independent candidate in the eyes of the electorate. Mircea Geoană acknowledged the visit and expressed his regret, but the moment remained a sensitive point in his political career.

• Kicked out of the PSD, Geoană joined NATO

Mircea Geoană was for many years a member of the PSD and a social-democratic parliamentarian, a position from which he managed to annoy the former president Ion Iliescu. On February 28, 2005, Ion Iliescu labeled Mircea Geoană a "fool" in full session of the PSD senatorial group, for the blunders he committed between the two rounds of the 2004 presidential elections, after which Traian Băsescu defeated Adrian Năstase. At that time, Ion Iliescu stated: "Mircea Geoană behaved like a fool between the two presidential voting rounds, when he went around the country and said that the UDMR will be with the PSD in the government".

Later, in November 2011, in an interview given to the newspaper Adevărul, Ion Iliescu, as the honorary president of PSD, said that the nickname "prostănac" that he gave to Mircea Geoană had a foundation, because he did not ask for it never the advice.

Ion Iliescu specified for the cited source: "In general, he did not ask for my advice. I had no reason to look for him. Know that the nickname he received from me had a foundation... The fact is that he must respect the Party Statute".

This is probably why Mircea Geoană is the only PSD leader who was expelled from the party twice. The first exclusion took place in 2009, after losing the presidential elections, and the second in 2014, following a conflict with Victor Ponta and Liviu Dragnea. After the second exclusion, he tried to launch a new political party, together with Marian Vanghelie, but the project was not successful.

After only five years, in 2019, Mircea Geoană was nominated for the position of Deputy Secretary General of NATO, a position he held until September 10, 2024. The new high-ranking position gave him important international legitimacy and an image strong supporter of Western values. This mandate allowed him to participate in numerous international events and build a favorable image in the diplomatic sphere.

However, Mircea Geoană was criticized in the last year because he used the public events in which he participated as Deputy Secretary General of NATO, to campaign for the presidential elections. One such example is the visit of Mircea Geoană, as deputy general secretary of NATO, to the Cincu Military Base, after which he went to the International Theater Festival in Sibiu, on which occasion he let it be understood that he was preparing for the elections from 2024.

Also this year, during his tenure at NATO, Mircea Geoană had a public speech on corruption, criticizing "nepotism, clientelism and corruption" in the political system, but his speech was considered late and opportunistic by analysts policies.

In conclusion, through his candidacy, as an independent, for the presidency of Romania, Mircea Geoană is trying to return to the forefront of Romanian politics. However, although he enters this race immediately after resigning from his position at NATO, the former president of the PSD will have to fight with the memories of his complicated political past and a new generation of leaders who aspire to the supreme office in the state.