“Legionnaire” most searched word after first round of presidential elections in Romania
<p>“Legionnaire” was the most searched word by Romanians on the night of November 24, after the first round of the presidential elections, according to an index compiled by dictionary website DEX.com.</p>
<p>The word describes a member or sympathizer of the Legion of the Archangel Michael or the Legionnaire Movement, a fascist and anti-Semitic organization active in Romania in the interwar period and early in the Second World War. The Romanian Legion was inspired by the German SS organization and perpetrated violent actions against the Romanian state and some of its leaders.</p>
<p>According to a Facebook post by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=958320706329342&amp;set=a.548770293951054&amp;locale=ro_RO">DEX online</a>, the next most searched words were ‘sovereignty,’ with 1,570 searches; ‘antisemitism,’ with 641 views; and ‘mason,’ with 522. On election night, Romanians also searched for the meanings of words like ‘diaspora,’ ‘Russophile,’ and ‘pedology.’ By 6:10 AM, ‘legionnaire’ had registered 2,234 views.</p>
<p>The searches occurred after Călin Georgescu, an allegedly pro-Russian candidate with a legionnaire and antisemitic discourse, <a href="https://www.romania-insider.com/romania-presidential-elections-shock-result-independent-calin-gerogescu-lead">emerged as the big winner of the first round of the presidential elections</a>, advancing to the second round in first place. He won well over 2 million votes, or almost 23%.</p>
<p>Georgescu gained visibility when far-right AUR leader George Simion proposed him for prime minister. Still, he stepped back shortly after, in February 2022, after he praised interwar legionnaire leader Corneliu Zelea Codreanu. He also called Romanian WW2 autocratic leader Ion Antonescu a hero, according to <a href="https://www.g4media.ro/legionar-a-fost-cel-mai-cautat-cuvant-de-catre-romani-pe-dex-online-in-noaptea-alegerilor.html?utm_source=feedly&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=legionar-a-fost-cel-mai-cautat-cuvant-de-catre-romani-pe-dex-online-in-noaptea-alegerilor">G4Media</a>.</p>
<p>Prosecutors opened a criminal case against him for glorifying those guilty of genocide and war crimes. Georgescu has often praised ‘Russian wisdom,’ and during an electoral debate on Digi24 he could not state whether he admires Putin or not.</p>
<p><em><a href="mailto:radu@romania-insider.com">radu@romania-insider.com</a></em></p>
<p><em>(Photo source: Dexonline on Facebook)</em></p>