Mircea Vulcanescu, whose name Ms. Mardarovici wanted to remove from the street, was a philosopher, sociologist and economist who, though convicted of war crimes after World War II, is still widely lauded as a luminary of Romanian culture. Some of the people honored have been purged, but the survival of others, Ms. Mardarovici said, helps explain how an ultranationalist, Calin Georgescu, managed to rally so much support in a bid to become Romania’s president. He had been well positioned to win a runoff vote last Sunday — until the constitutional court, citing various irregularities, called it off. A little-known independent, Mr. Georgescu won the first round on Nov. 24 by tapping into deep seams of resentment against foreigners, domestic elites, minorities and those seen as tarnishing Romania’s past. The surprising cancellation of the second round derailed Mr. Georgescu’s surging campaign but left untouched the forces that had propelled it.

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Persons: Mircea Vulcanescu, Mardarovici, Calin Georgescu, Georgescu, Georgescu’s