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| ROMANIAN POLITICAL PARTIES- THE PEOPLE’S LEAGUE 10/05/2010 |
| (2010-05-10) |
| Last updated: 2010-05-11 13:01 EET |
After the end of World War I, in 1918, the entire world was undergoing deep changes. Besides the years 1945 and 1989, 1918 is a year that had a decisive impact on the 20th Century, in terms of the scope of changes in the life of people and societies. This is when radical political trends take shape, against the backdrop of the terrible disasters of the first World War. This is when, instead of learning from the mistakes of the past, people believe they are entitled to seek fulfillment through extreme solutions.
Romania, too, experienced a transformation process. In the field of politics, the end of World War I sees the emergence of populism, a trend rooted in conservatism, but which tries to convey something new compared to traditional schools of politics. Although it has a lot in common with fascism, populism differs from it in terms of practical solutions. Populism relied on overwhelming emotion, on seditious rhetoric and Messianic solutions. In practice, populism failed towards the end of the 1920s, to be replaced by fascism. Romanian populism was represented by the People’s League, later renamed the People’s Party, founded by general Alexandru Averescu, a World War I hero.
Averescu entered the public arena by establishing an organization aimed at counterbalancing the old parties and trying to address problems by means of reforms. In April 1918, Alexandru Averescu resigned from the army and set up the People’s League, whose motto was, “Work, honesty, lawfulness.” Common people were quite impressed with the party, particularly with its view that everybody should work, instead of some people working and others taking advantage from it. Honesty was another element that the People’s League capitalized on; it saw honesty as the opposite of business, given that most people detested the recent war profiteers. Averescu also came up with the idea that each peasant family should own 5 hectares of land, which won him a lot of votes. Historian Ioan Scurtu describes Averescu as Romania’s first political myth:
“People believed Averescu and no one else was able to make things right, to punish those who had caused disaster, to make reforms and to ensure a better life for the many. Politician Constantin Argetoianu describes an episode of 1919: Averescu was campaigning in counties Ilfov and Ialomita, and people were taking to the street to welcome him, from priests and school teachers to common people. They saw him as a Messiah, women would kneel, children would be sent to kiss the coat he had been wearing during the war, and which he was now wearing during the election campaign. He was a man that some people dreamt would whip through the crowds of the sinful, just as Jesus had done in Jerusalem. There was also an organized campaign to boost his image: medals and newspapers were issued, fliers were distributed, but above all there was a mass psychosis, which played a critical part in promoting the People’s League and general Averescu as a first-rank political figure in Romania.”
The People’s League did not have a political doctrine as such, nor could it have one, since upon its establishment they said this was not a party and it would not become one. It addressed all social categories, from tycoons to peasants, from university professors to factory workers. And it was joined by politicians from all sides of the political spectrum, and particularly by Conservatives.
Under these circumstances, it was only natural for the League to come to power. Ioan Scurtu speaks about the performances of the Averescu government:
“I believe the Averescu government, which only stayed in power between March 1920 and December 1921, achieved a lot. It was during this government’s term in office that a large-scale land reform was carried out, the most comprehensive such reform in Europe after War World I. A monetary reform was also carried out, because shortly after the Union several currencies were in use in Romania: the ruble, the forint, the crown, the leu. It was this government that signed the Treaty of Trianon, which confirmed the union of Transylvania with Romania. The Little Deal was made, with Take Ionescu as a foreign minister. However, these achievements did not live up to people’s expectations. The miracles that people had been waiting for could not come true. First of all, it was the property reform. The government was unable to give all peasants 5 ha of land, and only gave them 2.5 ha, that is half of what they expected, so they felt tricked. Secondly, business and fishy deals carried on. Averescu did not punish the guilty, he came to power thanks to a secret agreement with Ion I.C. Bratianu, president of the National Liberal Party. One of the conditions was for Averescu not to hold anyone responsible for the serious condition the country was in. And as it always happens, the psychology of the masses is quite interesting and unpredictable. Alexandru Averescu, the hero of the 1919-1920, left power in 1921 in a rather dishonorable way. And no one felt sorry for him, no one stood up for him, to support his government. People felt disappointed and betrayed by their idol.”
The importance of the People’s League, turned into the People’s Party in 1920, started to decrease towards the end of the 1920s, after general Averescu, promoted to the rank of marshal, left the public arena. He died in 1938 in Bucharest, at the age of 79.
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