Romanian governing coalition candidate to launch a podcast and invite critics

The Romanian governing coalition's presidential candidate, Crin Antonescu, announced on Thursday, March 13, that he is launching a podcast designed to popularize his candidacy before the May elections.

Antonescu, who is backed by the alliance made up of the Liberals (PNL), Social Democrats (PSD), the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians (UDMR), and the minorities, stated that he will not be the one asking questions but will instead answer questions from those who want to know what he plans to do as president or how prepared he is.

“I look forward to seeing you at Podcastul lui Crin (Crin’s Podcast). Bring all your ideas, criticisms, and opinions - I accept and discuss them all. I believe in freedom of speech and I want to prove it," Crin Antonescu said in a post on social media.

"You ask, I answer. I will respond to your questions in my podcast! Comment what you want to find out, I will select the most interesting questions and address them in future episodes. There will also be special guests, public figures who will ask me direct questions. Stay tuned, interesting episodes are coming!"

Crin Antonescu first launched an invitation to the podcast to Mihai Zmenta, a vlogger who previously described Antonescu as "Ciucă 2, but articulate," referencing former leader of the National Liberal Party and the party’s unsuccessful presidential candidate, Nicolae Ciucă, according to News.ro.

The current presidential candidate addressed the vlogger directly: "I think it's time to clear up any misunderstandings. Not only do I accept your comments, but I also want to discuss them in depth. I await your response! Let's have an open and unfiltered discussion for everyone who wants to hear the truth directly from the source,."

In a previous post, Zmenta accused Antonescu of blocking him on Facebook over a comment. "Crin Antonescu just blocked me because I left the following comment on his post where he boasted about how he wished he had beaten Georgescu in the election. My comment: 'To beat CG in the election, you first have to make it to the second round!' Nothing offensive or defamatory. This is how the PSDNL team and candidate understand democracy,” he said.

The vlogger later announced that he had been unblocked.

(Photo source: Crin Antonescu on Facebook)