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| Romanians Have Cast Their Votes in Local Elections |
| (2012-06-12) |
| Last updated: 2012-06-13 22:37 EET |
Romanians appear to still love the Social Liberal Union. The alliance formed by three parties a year and a half ago to counterbalance the Liberal Democratic dominance, took power in May and scored a decisive victory over the Liberal Democrats in Sunday’s elections.
The Social Liberal Union has got 40% of city halls, over three quarters of county council presidencies, half of county councils, and most local councils. In various smaller towns and villages, the Social Democrats and the National Liberals had separate candidates who sometimes have managed to win.
The clear-cut victory at the national level became even more painful for the Liberal Democrats after final results were announced in Bucharest, where they were virtually evicted. The General Mayor of Bucharest is still Sorin Oprescu, the Social Liberal Union candidate, and five of the six sectors of Bucharest went to Union candidates.
Add to this the general council and sector councils, and the Social Liberal Union’s victory is overwhelming. Sunday’s elections validate the Social Liberal Union as an alternative to the Liberal Democrats. The unexpectedly high vote brings with it the risk that actually ruling could become a poison chalice for the Social Democrats, Liberals and Conservatives, since they will have to govern prudently in these troubled times in order not to squander their advantage ahead of the parliamentary elections in autumn.
Nevertheless, the local elections were the first time the Liberal Democrats were penalized at the polls after four years of crisis and austerity. During this time, many believe they showed real arrogance and a chronic inability to explain the difficult measures they imposed. However, the Liberal Democrats are not yet politically dead.
Even though they got a mere half of the votes they obtained in 2008, when they became the number one political party in power, the Liberal Democrats can still rely on the 16 to 17% of the popular vote that keeps it alive. The party seems to have taken refuge in the city of Cluj, where its president, Emil Boc, former Prime Minister, surprisingly managed to win seat of mayor. It is not much, but it is better than nothing for a leader who lost the confidence of the people after the Liberal Democratic Party had lost power. For the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, the former ally of the Liberal Democrats, the local elections were an important test, because the Union was threatened by new competitors - more radical autonomists from the Hungarian community.
The results, however, have proven that the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians has no reason to fear. What’s more, a new party hoping to appeal to Romanian populism, Dan Diaconescu’s People’s Party, came in third after the Social Liberal Union and the Liberal Democrats. The danger of that party stems less from its political platform, and more from the fact that it has a media launching pad, a television station that has recently managed to redefine the meaning of lowbrow.
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