Former NATO deputy secretary general Mircea Geoană officially joins presidential race in Romania
<p>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.</p>

<p>"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.</p>

<p><iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="410" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=295&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fmircea.geoana%2Fvideos%2F828251522623482%2F&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=560&amp;t=0" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>Banners with the former NATO official, now an independent candidate for the presidency, have already appeared across Bucharest <em>(opening photo)</em>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Mircea Geoană previously ran for president in&nbsp;2009,&nbsp;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.</p>

<p>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,&nbsp;<em>The Battle for Romania's Future</em>.&nbsp;<em>Thoughts of a Romanian at the Top of NATO</em>.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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&nbsp;<a href="https://www.libertatea.ro/stiri/sondaj-mircea-geoana-lider-cu-21-marcel-ciolacu-pe-locul-al-doilea-cu-172-elena-lasconi-scor-dublu-fata-de-nicolae-ciuca-4999965" target="_blank">Libertatea</a>.</p>

<p><em>radu@romania-insider.com</em></p>

<p><em>(Photo source: Inquam Photos/George Calin)</em></p>