Jack Dean

Similarly, if anyone knows of any research relating to the effects of international medical students (particularly UK) going to Romania, Bulgaria or elsewhere in CEE, please let me know!

Why medical students are choosing Bulgaria over UK The BBC has spoken to students choosing Bulgaria due to UK's strict cap on medical school places.

This is going to be an interesting challenge for NHS workforce in a few years - with difficulties in specialist training places as it is, how will it handle a growing cohort that are studying abroad and likely looking to return?

SOS Senator Ninel Peia to USR Senator Ruxandra Deaconu: "I have the impression that when your mother was pregnant with you she took too much paracetamol"

Perhaps it's time to change the old adage to reflect recent political trends: "When America sneezes, Romania catches a cold".

Congratulations!

Great reminder, as ever, that political positions and names aren't always as they first appear.

AUR's Moldovan branch not having a great night thus far. At the time of posting, only 38 votes in Romania, 0 in the UK, and not even 1300 in Moldova itself.

A useful reminder that whilst the party polls well in Romania on an ostensibly pro-unification platform, it doesn't transfer over to Moldova.

PAS on 88% in Romanian polling stations so far, compared to just 2% for the Patriotic Bloc.

Interestingly, with half of the polling stations reported in Germany, the Patriotic Bloc is polling lower than PPDA.

Diaspora falling very, very heavily for PAS currently, and over 50% in Chișinău. Overall, looks like a strong night for PAS, with it now seeming as though they have secured a majority.

This attempt to transpose US social cleavages onto the UK electorate isn't backed by data, so what exactly is the strategy here?

Luke's thoughts here are well worth a read. There's an underlying theme and thought: after years trying to bring UKIP, then Reform into the mainstream, why is Farage now seemingly so focused on courting the online right?

Can you put a price on friendship? We may soon find out, given Russian activity in Eastern Europe has begun hitting China's trade with the European continent.

An actual quote from the Secretary of State for Business and Trade

Too often people go to university to ‘explore research and knowledge’

Look forward to Wes S saying 'too often people go to hospital to have operations' or Heidi Alexander saying 'too often people go to the station to catch a train'

The logical conclusion is therefore that this is going to become far more commonplace in coming years, particularly in the extra-Parliamentary environment like this weekend.

Being able to display international recognition and gain prominence abroad is a higher priority for the party, and Simion personally. When viewed through a strategic lens, it is easy to understand the relegation of ideology in their consideration.

There is of course the irony of a party that has long complained of mistreatment of the diaspora working with individuals who were a significant part of said vilification. To ignore this, to use the language of Weyland and an earlier post in the thread, is a strategic choice.

On 3) there are important points to be made regarding how the Romanian far right has consistently shown willingness to seek international allies in recent months. British and American actors were at Georgescu's events, Vance and Trump Jr were frequently courted for support post Dec 8.

Farage's appeals about Romanian and Bulgarian immigration are now replaced by wider grand narratives of conspiratorial European meddling, and this displays a key feature of far-right rhetoric: it is not immutable. It is strategic, focusing on whatever they can portray to be the zeitgeist.

On 2), the idea that the now ex-leder of the EDL would be introducing Polish and Romanian actors in a friendly light would have been incredibly alien in 2016.

This reflects changing priorities - with the referendum in the past, immigration from Eastern Europe is no longer the focus.

In many respects it can be seen to hark to the idea of a 'Europe of Nationalists' that gained some traction in the 2010s.

Of note however is that this is a mix of actors, and international cooperation between a political party leader and a protest leader and online influencer.

This is unusual - whilst we have seen it occur domestically (think MAGA/QAnon flirtation), it is unusual to see it cross borders like this.

On the first point, I want to acknowledge this isn't new. The BNP had interacted with the then-FN (now RN, Rassemblement National) and drew inspiration from Haider in Austria. UKIP at times looked to do something similar.

There's much that can be said about this:
1. The internationalisation of nationalism
2. The shift in priorities among the British far-right.
3. The increasingly external perspective of the Romanian far-right (not alone in CEE in this regard).

Elsewhere, AUR's George Simion appeared at the rally in London.

In many respects, this is something unimaginable a decade ago. A Romanian populist actor would have lacked the international name to be invited; a British far-right actor would not have invited those from Eastern Europe.

This is just a brief summation, there will be more over coming days regarding the potential impacts of this, and the response to it from across the political spectrum.

Another name is Eugen Sechila, who has previously been indicted for pro-Legionary activity, namely planting crosses with Legionary symbols upon them. Given Georgescu's prior indictment for supporting and endorsing the ideas of Antonescu and Codreanu, there is a clear extreme-right ideology present.

For those who look at the Romanian far-right, a few other names may jump out. Most notably, Dan Grăjdeanu, leader of the Neo-Legionary group Fratia Ortodoxa, the Orthodox Brotherhood. Ostensibly a religious group, this organisation has been central in promoting the remembrance of the Iron Guard.

There were reports at the time regarding this convoy and the police stopping it, and it has now been alleged that it is part of this plot to subvert Romanian democracy through widespread violence and creating a febrile, panicked environment for the population so the second round would go ahead.

It is suggested that together, this group conspired to turn the largely peaceful protests in December 2024 into large scale violence. To do this, a group of highly armed individuals would be travelling into Bucharest, with among other things pyrotechnics, knives and two firearms.

Perhaps more important however, are the nature of the allegations. It is suggested by the Prosecutors that Calin Georgescu was a key figure in the plot to overthrow Romanian democracy. This is in combination with numerous others, including the mercenary Horatiu Potra.

Georgescu's indictment covers numerous grounds, including the spreading of false information, but most notably involvement in actions against Romania's constitutional order. This is in itself a moment of great importance for Romania.