Former NATO deputy secretary general Mircea Geoană officially joins presidential race in Romania
The former deputy secretary general of NATO, Mircea Geoană, officially announced on Wednesday, September 11, a day after the end of his mandate at NATO, that he will run for president of Romania.
"I am running for president because I know we need real change! I could have promised you a perfect country. I could have posed as the perfect politician and told you that all the problems would disappear overnight. But we all know that's not reality. We are not perfect. I am not perfect. But you know what we can do? We can work. We can roll up our sleeves and build a better country," Geoană says in his presidential campaign video.
Banners with the former NATO official, now an independent candidate for the presidency, have already appeared across Bucharest (opening photo).
Mircea Geoană previously ran for president in 2009, with the backing of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), which he headed. Back then, he was defeated by the then-incumbent president, Traian Băsescu. He was expelled by his party, notorious for its short patience with defeated leaders, shortly thereafter.
This time, Mircea Geoană postponed the launch of his candidacy for the presidential elections, although, in recent weeks, he has been on a national and international tour. During the tour, he promoted himself alongside his book, The Battle for Romania's Future. Thoughts of a Romanian at the Top of NATO.
The former NATO official joins a tight race for the Romanian presidency, although he has long been featured in surveys, where he was shown to be among the top, if not the top candidate.
At the moment, Mircea Geoană is credited with 21% in voting intention, followed by PSD leader and PM Marcel Ciolacu, with 17.2%. In third place is the leader of the opposition and reformist center-right party USR, Elena Lasconi, with 15.3%. Far-right AUR leader George Simion is in fourth with 14%, followed by another far-right leader, MEP Diana Șoșoacă, with 13.9%, according to a recent survey cited by Libertatea.
radu@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Inquam Photos/George Calin)
