February 13^th, 1999 - Romania Libera

Dime-a-Dozen Socialism

The Socialist International meeting that took place last week in Bucharest triggered an unprecedented soul-searching campaign among the parties that branched off from the former FSN [The National Salvation Front]. This deceptive campaign aimed at justifying their desire to join the European social-democrat league. Far from being successful, those parties unwillingly emphasized the need for a center-right government in Romania. I will try to explain this paradox.

Although a minor party in Romania, only PSDR [The Romanian Social Democrat Party], the party led by Mr. Sergiu Cunescu, has a genuine social-democratic leaning. The bigger party in USD [The Social Democrat Union], PD [The Democratic Party] led by Mr. Petre Roman, owed its acceptance in the Socialist International to the truly social-democrat credentials of the smaller PSDR. Time and again, PSDR and its leader Mr. Cunescu have been promoting the values of European democracy through their respect of the national democratic institutions and, implicitly, of private property. Mr. Cunescu has always sided with the center-right side of the governing coalition regarding the restitution of confiscated property to its lawful owners. By contrast, PD has banded together with the former communist parliamentary opposition to block all legislative initiatives in favor of private property rights. In this context, the whole pro-market economic reform is doomed to fail as it lacks the legal foundation and the executive drive to push it forward. All along, PD has been sabotaging the current pro-market governing coalition despite its demagogical rhetoric favoring the governmental initiatives. This obstructionist attitude exhibited by PD, which pretended to be a governing ally but proved to be a parliamentary foe by voting together with the former communists opposing the government, undermined the pro-Western coalition of Christian-Democrat, Liberal and Social-Democrat parties. PD, led by Mr. Roman, has been using its parliamentary swing-votes and the inexcusable governmental blunders to accredit the false idea that the center-right government is doomed to fail, and therefore social-democracy is the only viable alternative. Although mistaken and against the Romanian national interest, this approach is quite appealing to the Socialist International for obvious reasons.

For the time being, allow me to explain the politics behind the latest campaign in favor of the social-democratic principles led by the former communist parties in the context of the recent Socialist International meeting in Bucharest, Romania. All these parties ranging from PD (whose pretended social-democratic affiliation has been denounced by the organizations defending property rights in Romania), to PDSR [The Party of Democratic Socialism of Romania] (whose application for inclusion in the Socialist International was pending) suddenly abandoned their bitter opposition to the return of all private properties confiscated by the communist regime to their lawful owners, and embraced various restitution proposals. However, their "restitution" proposals would only provide a legal framework for the consolidation of governmental ownership over stolen properties, illustrating their old communist mentality against private property rights. Their sudden change of heart in favor of the restitution of confiscated property was only a propagandistic gimmick to impress the Socialist International — we can only hope that this organization cannot be fooled that easily. We hope that this major forum speaking in the name of international social-democracy is not going to compromise a major European political movement by giving in to the cheap proselytism emanating from the former Communist Block. The social-democratic message would be compromised if, for expansionist reasons, the Socialist International abandons its high standards for membership (that distinguished the democratic principles advanced by social democracy from the populism employed by communism), and confers credibility to the former communist parties like PD which lacks democratic conviction. The theory advanced by Mr. Roman [the PD leader], which claims that the inclusion of former communist parties in the Socialist International would establish social-democracy in Romania, is false. It is only a madman’s dream that such alliances would give the Socialist International a solid footing in the former Communist Block. In truth, such a move would only depreciate the aims of the democratic ideals promoted by the Socialist International because it would perpetuate the communist structures as "red capitalism" with connections to the criminal underworld. Such political promiscuity would only undermine the goals of the Socialist International.

There is no social-democratic alternative in Romania for the time being. If it were to come, it would be untimely anyway. One should note that the only former communist countries being integrated into NATO and being considered for admission into the European Union [i.e., Hungary, Poland, and The Czech Republic] were rebuilt by center-right governments. Only later did the social democrats become a plausible alternative. By contrast, reform in other countries like Bulgaria and Slovakia was delayed by former communist parties lingering in power under the self-ascribed name of social democrats — these same countries are back on the track of pro-market reform following the ascent to power of the center-right Christian-Democrats. The Socialist International meeting in Bucharest will have a positive impact on Romania in as much as PD is willing to abandon its duplicity and prove its commitment to the current pro-European governmental coalition. By not doing so, PD would opt for corruption or empty promises characteristic to social-democratic administrations of South American type.

Article by Roxana Iordache

Translated by
Alexandru C. Bageac, M.D.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Harvard Medical School