Andrei Taranu PhD

SNSPA Romania

THE ORIGINS OF CONTEMPORARY

ROMANIAN POPULISM
 THE NEED FOR DEFINITIONS
 One interpretation argues that populism has emerged as a response to the problems
of modernization and its consequences in societies that have been put in
contact with forces and ideas associated with a higher level of development
 Alexandre Dorna interprets psychologically the factors that led to the populist
processes because, in his view, the emergence of this phenomenon is generally
associated with a syndrome of disappointment. When you reach a certain cultural
exhaustion, lack of confidence in the future, when traditional markers are no
longer functioning, and the great national institutions (government, parliament,
political parties, etc.), are drained of contents, then appears the possibility of a
populist current development. The same author notes that populism is associated
with the failure of democratic regimes, therefore the democratic disillusion
push the masses to choose other ways, one of which being populism.
 Pierre-André Taguieff believes that the main “condition for the emergence of a
populist mobilization is a crisis of political legitimacy that affects the whole
representative system”.
 The emergence of populism is seen as a response to the growing (and not always
unjustified) mistrust in the democratic institutional system and the disappointment
caused by the political class performance.
 ELEMENTS OF POPULIST DISCOURSE
 Therefore before assuming a definition we think it would be important
to describe the main political elements that are considered to be
populist, no matter the area or region where they manifest themselves:
 1. contempt and even hatred of political elites, 2. a strong anti-
corruption rhetoric,
 3. a discourse based on an anti-system the appeal to the nation as a
whole,
 4. cultural (or religious) conservatism
 5. economic egalitarianism,
 6. rhetorical anti-capitalism
 7. declared nationalism,
 8. xenophobic behavior and discourses
 9. conflicting public policies (when they arrive into power), 10. anti-
system foreign policy and alliances; (Krastev, 2009)
 THEORETICAL MODEL •
Various academic studies of populism (Mudde, 2004; Mudde, 2010; Akkerman, Mudde &
Zaslove, 2014, Schultz et al., 2017, Norris & Inglehart, 2019) identify two important ideas to
define populism:
(1) VOX POPULI. ”The people" is the main source of legitimacy, and the politicians must be
accepted as serving the people. So, the voice of the public must always be taken into
consideration for decisions +
(2) THE CORRUPTION OF THE SYSTEM. The regular people and the elite represented by
the politicians are two very different groups, with the public being much more fit to rule and
govern than the corrupted elite.

Types of populism Norris & Inglehart: “Populism is treated not as a distinct type of leadership,
or even a family of political parties, as is often assumed, but rather as a discourse about
government that can be adopted by actors across the entire ideological spectrum” (Cultural
Backlash, 2019) Thus, we can assume that populist attitudes can be found for all political
parties and all voters, in different degrees. And we can evaluate differences between
different types of populism: -
(3) A Libertarian populism (for progressive parties) –
(4) Authoritarian populism (for right-wing partie s)
THE CONCEPT OF THE PEOPLE IN ROMANIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY

 Starting from begging of Romanian Modernity – 1840 – the Romanian People were
presented as an Heroic People with the perfect knowledge of his destiny and his
historical aim.
 This Hegelian perspective bring into the Romanian culture via French Romanticism
(Edgar Quinet and Jules Michelet) were the leading historical perspective until in
contemporary era.
 The Hegelian perspective need an Volksgeist as an epitome of the National Spirit.
And this spirit were represented by an Historical and Heroic Figure of the Leader.
 According to the ideological perspective of the time and the author the Volksgeist
were represented differently period after period.
 On the Modern Period when the unification of Romanian Provinces were the most
important political dream – Mihai Viteazu – were presented as the expression of the
Volksgeist.
 During the Communism it were other few important figures who embodied the
Volksgeist – Tudor Vladimirescu (in the very begging of Communism), Burebista –
the mythic king of Dacia, or Horea, Closca and Crisan (XVIII Century Peasants who
rebelled against the social and economic condition in Habsburgic Transylvania.
TUDOR VLADIMIRESCU WERE A LITTLE NOBLEMAN WHO LEAD THE REBELLION AGAINST THE OTOMAN
EMPIRE IN 1821, DURING THE GREEK REBELLION (ETHERIA) FOR INDEPENDENCE OF THE BALKANS,
ESPECIALLY OF GREECE. HE WAS BETRAYED AND KILLED BY THE GREEK’S LEADER IN TARGOVISTE.
BUREBISTA WAS THE MYTHIC KING OF DACIA WHO REUNITED THE
DACIAN TRIBES IN THE FIRST CENTURY B.C. AND MADE THE “FIRST
CENTRALIZED DACIAN STATE”. THERE ARE NO IMAGES OR CLEAR
DOCUMENTATED STORIES ABOUT HIM. HE WAS A REAL KING, BUT
NOBODY KNOWS VERY WELL NOTHING ABOUT HIM AND HIS PERIOD. HE
WAS BETRAYED AND KILL BY HIS NOBLEMEN. HIS STATE DIDN’T SURVIVE
HIS MURDER.
THE MARTYRS OF THE ROMANIAN PEOPLE. ALL OF THOSE LEADERS (BETWEEN THEM IS OUR NATIONAL POET, MIHAI
EMINESCU WHO DIED BY A MENTAL ILLNESS) ARE SUPPOSED TO BE BETRAYED AND KILL BY THE POLITICAL ELITES OR
BY THE INVADERS. ION ANTONESCU (THE FASCIST DICTATOR OF ROMANIA DURING 1940 AND 1944) IS AMONG THEM
THE COMMUNIST PEOPLE
 Unlike classic Marxism, and in an extremely romantic
manner, the role of personality in history in communist
Romania was extremely pregnant and not of the
revolutionary elites. Starting with the 70's, Nicolae
Ceausescu (and later Elena Ceausescu) became the
demiurgists of contemporary history, being involved in
all the relevant historical acts of the 20th century.
 For Ceausescu, as for Stalin earlier, it was extremely easy
from a symbolic point of view to blame the members of
the Romanian Communist Party which had abandoned
their leader and people in favour of their own ideas or an
enemy (in the specific case of USSR – capitalism).
CEAUSESCU EMERGING FROM THE HEART OF THE ROMANIAN PEOPLE DEPICTED AS THE MOST HAPPY
PEOPLE IN THE WORLD UNDER THE SUN OF GOLDEN AGE.
THE OFFICIAL TITLE OF CEAUSESCU WAS
THE MOST BELOVED SON OF THE PEOPLE, THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE ROMANIAN COMMUNIST
PARTY AND PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF ROMANIA, COMRADE NICOLAE CEAUSESCU
 The political tension in Romania, especially in the context of the cruel misery due to
the payment of external debt, will not arise, as in the other communist states between
the political elite of the communist parties and the new dissident elite (either from the
Communist Party or from the Civil Society) but between the leader and the people.
This explains why the Revolution of December 22 will have a popular and national
character, unlike Poland or Hungary where the transition from communism to
democracy is negotiated between successive elites. Indeed, in Czechoslovakia, German
Democratic Republic or Bulgaria at the time of the revolution, the formal leaders were
already debarred. Romania is the only country in which the popular reaction is directed
against a person who has a body and a face. In contrast, unlike the other socialist
states, there is no dissident either inside or outside the party, which makes the
Revolution impossible to negotiate and becomes a bloody one.
 The political elite it was part of the Ceausescu’s inner circle, so it were easy to be
assimilated with him and his family. The opposing elite it were from the cultural
Intelligentsia, but it was very weak. But after the Revolution this elite claim that it had
to join the political power.
 After the Revolution the second and third layer of the Communist Party gain the
political and economical power on the democratic election on 20 th of May 1990. The
leading figure of the new power it was Ion Iliescu.
 WE ARE THE PEOPLE.
GET RID OF THE DICTATOR
ION ILIESCU BECAME THE LEADING FIGURE OF THE REVOLUTION AND
OF NEW ELECTED POWER IN 1990. HIS SUPPORTERS REPLACE THE
SYMBOLIC FIGURE OF CEAUSESCU WITH ILIESCU’S PERSONALITY IN
ORDER TO KEEP THEIR POLITICAL OR ECONOMICAL PRIVILEGES
 THE COMMUNIST ANTI-COMMUNIST CLEAVAGE
 The outcome of the Revolution generates a lot of discontent for a lot of social
groups, mainly to Intelligentsia. Even it were not a clear dissidence in Romania,
the Intelligentsia believe the structure of the anticommunism it is the same in
Central Eastern Europe. The myth of Revolutionary Intelligentsia (the knowing
elite) arise.
 An important part of the former Securitate was discontent, too
 So, seemingly contradictory structures such as the employees of the old
Securitate, along with those who declared themselves dissidents (or had actually
been in the street during the Revolution) introduced the myth of the stolen
revolution, which expelled the true makers of the Revolution – the popular masses
– from the equation of power. The battle between political elites began as the
people were told, "Go home, we will handle it from here! We know what we're
talking about, thanks for your help, there is no need for you here. “
 Starting from this point Populism became the main political current in Romania.
The political power declares itself as the “emanation of the Revolution” – that
means the will of the masses. The political Opossition legitimate itself from the
elites knowledge and declare the People is not sufficient prepared for democracy
and capitalism. So, it have to obey to the knowledge elite.
 NATIONAL POPULISM
One of the most visible dimension of Central Eastern European Populism is Ethnical
Nationalism more then Civic Nationalism, present into the Western European Populism.
FIDESZ, PiS or SMER tackle with nationalism but they make different bogus in order to
stay on the political center.
In Romania all the main stream political parties are highly influenced by Ethnic
Nationalism, but are different approaches on that issue:
1. Romanian Exceptionalism – Romanians are the most important people on the planet, here
is the geometrical point of the Earth. Here is birthplace of the universal culture. Because of
this all the foreigners (and especially the neighbors) want to block us and finally to destroy
us as a nation, eventually to steal our territory. PSD (and its political ghosts) is the main
promoter of this discourse.
2. Romanian’s international destiny. Only the cultural and traditional elites (including here
the national Church) are responsible for the future of the country. The rest of the people
have to accept that and to follow the political leaders advised by that elite. The main aim of
this elite is to transform Romania into a modern western state, even in spite of the needs of
the ordinary people. The elite is not very interested in a liberal democracy but in a
modernizing authoritarianism. Former PDL was the promoter of this type of discourse.
Now it can be find in PNL and USR. Now they use the myth of a technocratic government,
a better one like this than a political one.
 ROMANIAN POPULISM
 In Romania populism is a mass phenomenon. Emerging from the communist-anticommunist
cleavage the Romanian political parties declares themselves not as class or group parties but
as National Party which interested defending all social groups and classes. So, the ideology
of the political parties can be define as a catch all parties ideology.
 In three decades all the parties came on power looks pretty much the same and act pretty
much the same. All the parties became leader and task oriented parties without any
difference.
 The only one and most significant thing is the Enemy. All the Romanian parties acts in order
to save the People from the other parties supposed to be malevolent.
 Second major populist theme was an exogenous one – a rhetoric revolving around the
foreign interests aimed at controlling – directly or indirectly – the Romanian economy and
implicitly the entire country. The enemy is outside the country, but is represented by the
Enemy party. There are two major enemies in our days – Putin’s Russia and European
Union Representatives (Bureaucracy and European Parliament) who try to undermine the
Romanian Sovereignty.
THEY WITH THEM. US WITH YOU. PDL IS ON YOUR PART
THE MOST FAMOUS POPULIST SLOGAN.
DIGNITY. SOVEREIGNTY. JUSTICE
ALONE AGAINST EVERYBODY
ROMANIA DESERVES MORE
NOW IT’S THE TIME.
ROMANIA FIRST
WE WANT ROMANIA WITHOUT IMPEACHABLES AND WITHOUT
THIEVERY
 THE TWO QUESTIONS ARE:
1 MAJORITY OF THE ELECTED POLITICIANS DON’T CARE WHAT NORMAL
PEOPLE THINK
2. NORMAL PEOPLE CAN HANDLE BETTER THE PROBLEMS OF THE STATE