Who is Romanian far-right presidential candidate Călin Georgescu?

Independent candidate Călin Georgescu took a surprise lead in the polls in Romania's presidential election on Sunday with 22% of the vote, outperforming most local surveys and shocking the political establishment.

Georgescu led the polls ahead of established parties and the country's prime minister Marcel Ciolacu, who were widely expected to perform better.

The 62-year-old previously studied at the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Bucharest and the city's National Defence College.

He worked as a university professor, held positions in the country's environment ministry, and represented Romania on the national committee of the United Nations Environment Programme.

Despite not being widely known, Georgescu is not a total stranger to politics. The populist and nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians proposed him as their prime ministerial candidate twice, once in 2020 and once in 2021.

According to local media, they changed their mind after Georgescu publicly praised former Romanian dictator and Nazi collaborator Ion Antonescu.

Romania's General Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal case against him for his comments, accusing him of promoting "people guilty of genocide".

What are his views?

Georgescu's manifesto is relatively vague, but he has repeatedly questioned support for Ukraine and cast doubt on the country's membership in NATO, arguing that the military alliance would not come to Romania's defence if the country was attacked.

In an interview in 2022, he called Russian President Vladimir Putin one of the world's few true leaders and expressed his admiration for Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán's "negotiating" skills.

He has also called NATO's ballistic missile defence shield in Romania confrontational rather than a peaceful measure, in step with Putin.

Domestically, he has argued for reducing Romania's reliance on imports and supporting farmers in the country to increase domestic production of food and energy.

Where has his popularity come from?

Georgescu has seemingly come out of nowhere, but the 62-year-old has gained traction on TikTok in particular, where he has 3.4 million followers.

His videos show him attending church, running, and speaking on podcasts.

Political consultant Cristian Andrei says his unexpected poll result could be a "protest or revolt against the establishment."

“The mainstream political parties have lost the connection with regular Romanians,” he said.

Romania is set to have another round of voting on 8 December.

Although the outcome isn't determined yet, Georgescu's performance in the first round puts him in a strong position.

Romania's president serves a five-year term, is the commander-in-chief of the military and represents the country at NATO and European Union summits.