LOn Sunday my country was jolted awake by a collective shock. One name has been bothering us for days: Călin Georgescu. His unexpected rise to the top in the first round of Romania’s presidential election has polarized the country to a degree not seen since the founding of democracy 35 years ago.

Romania’s streets, screens and dinner tables are abuzz with debates about how a far-right and ultra-nationalist fringe candidate managed to capture the country’s attention – and votes. Many young demonstrators have already taken to the streets.

But more than 2 million Romanians voted for Georgescu. My father, a retired police officer, was one of them. He spends much of his free time on TikTok and was carried away by Georgescu’s rhetoric. Weeks before the election, the TikTok algorithm provided him with a steady stream of short, stirring videos in which Georgescu called for patriotism and promised to “put Romania first.” My father explained to me that his vote was not necessarily an endorsement of Georgescu’s nationalist beliefs – although some of them resonated with him – but rather a protest against the political establishment. “I wanted to sanction the mainstream political class,” he told me.

His feelings are not uncommon. Over the past 35 years, Romania’s two dominant parties – the center-left Social Democrats and the center-right Liberals – have been responsible for corruption scandals, nepotism, politically motivated fraud and the opaque use of public funds. Their decision to govern together in a coalition for the past three years has only increased public distrust and reinforced the perception that they are all acting together against the people. For many Romanians, the election of Georgescu was not only a question of ideology but also of frustration.

Still, I admit that I was angry when my father first told me that he voted for Georgescu. But as we talked, I began to understand his perspective. He is part of the self-sacrificing generation, those who were in their twenties when communism fell and have endured decades of broken promises since. His vote, like many others, was not about joining right-wing extremism – it was a desperate call for change.

This is not just a generational difference. Young people are also drawn to Georgescu. As I scroll through social media, I see old school friends – some with college degrees, others with steady jobs – sharing posts that echo his nationalist rhetoric. Their frustrations mirror those of older voters: rising costs of living, stagnating wages and the pervasive feeling that the system is being rigged against them.

But there is a deeper problem here that goes beyond protest elections and political frustration. It’s tempting to dismiss Georgescu’s supporters as uneducated, misinformed or deceived by social media algorithms. However, this ignores the broader context. Romania’s mainstream parties have not only failed to address key issues such as inflation – which is currently one of the highest rates in Europe – but their corruption has also angered voters. The results of this election should be a wake-up call for these parties. I and many other Romanians blame them for what happened.

The country’s Supreme Court has ordered a recount of all first-choice votes to rule out suspicion of fraud. There may even be a decision on Friday to overturn the results of the first round after two independent candidates who received less than 1% of the vote filed fraud complaints.

The decision is likely to further polarize Romanian society. Most worryingly, Romania is no longer just struggling with corruption or incompetence – for the first time since 1989, it finds itself at a crossroads between the values ​​of the EU and NATO and the allure of isolationism, conspiracy theories, anti-democratic ideals and Russia. Georgescu’s campaign has questioned everything from NATO’s missile shield in Romania to the climate crisis, reproductive rights and our relationship with the EU, while also praising Vladimir Putin and criticizing our support for Ukraine.

How did we get to this point? Platforms like TikTok have become powerful tools for spreading nationalist propaganda, often without sufficient oversight. But as a society, we have failed to listen to each other’s frustrations and fears. If we are to move forward, we must bridge the divides that Georgescu’s rise has exposed. We need to sit down with our friends, our family and our neighbors – those who voted differently than us – and listen to them.

The fight against polarization and disillusionment must also include a reckoning with our political class, which has failed for decades to implement the reforms and accountability we desperately need. We have the chance to do this on Sunday, when we have parliamentary elections, which could lead to either a far-right coalition or a more moderate coalition made up of old political parties and new progressive parties like SENS and REPER. A week later we will have to choose between Georgescu and the pro-European candidate Elena Lasconi in the second presidential election. Not only must we confront the extremism that Georgescu represents, but we must also address the systemic failures that made him famous.

The path ahead is uncertain, but one thing is clear: if Georgescu wins, people like my childhood friend Diana, a talented doctor who left Romania for Spain, disheartened by the dysfunction of our healthcare system, will take part the ongoing emigration of skilled workers from the country. I’m not coming back.

And Tomina, 28, works in corporate social responsibility for a bank in Bucharest and will reconsider her decision to stay in Romania. Like many young professionals who returned after the pandemic, she is now preparing to leave again. “I feel naive,” she admitted to me. “How could I miss this man’s rise?”