SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (ROMANIA)

The 'Social Democratic Party of Romania' (in Romanian, ''Partidul Social Democrat'', PSD) is a major political party of Romania. It is currently in opposition, as the Justice and Truth alliance, made up of the Liberals and Democrats, is in government. The current president of the PSD is Mircea Geoană, elected on April 21 2005.

Contents

History

Leadership of FSN, FDSN, PDSR and PSD

Criticism and allegations

See also

External links

History

On April 7, 1992, the struggle for power inside the National Salvation Front (''Frontul Salvării Naţionale'', FSN) between the more hard-line group led by Ion Iliescu and the more reformist group led by Petre Roman resulted in the Iliescu group withdrawing from FSN and founding of the 'Democratic National Salvation Front' (''Frontul Democrat al Salvării Naţionale'', FDSN), which would later become the present-day PSD.
FDSN won the 1992 elections and went on to govern Romania until 1996. On July 10, 1993 it took the name of 'Party of Social Democracy in Romania' (''Partidul Democraţiei Sociale din România'', PDSR) upon merger with the ''Socialist Democratic Party of Romania'' (PDSR), the ''Republican Party'' and the ''Cooperative Party''.

From 1994 to 1996 the PDSR ruled in coalition with three extremist parties - the right-wing Romanian National Unity Party (PUNR) and Greater Romania Party (PRM), and the left-wing Socialist Party of Labour. PUNR had ministers in the cabinet chaired by Nicolae Văcăroiu from March 1994 to September 1996. PRM was not present at the Cabinet, but was given some posts in the State administration. The PDSR lost the 1996 election, which was won by the multi-party coalition Romanian Democratic Convention (CDR).
In November 2000 the PDSR was back in power, this time in a coalition named the Social Democratic Pole of Romania along with the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSDR) and the Romanian Humanist Party (PUR). PSDR merged with PDSR on January 16, 2001, and the resulting party took its present name, PSD.

In November 2004, Adrian Năstase, the PSD candidate, won the first round of the presidential elections but did not have a majority and had to go to a second round of voting, which he lost to Traian Băsescu of the Justice and Truth alliance, who is therefore the current president. In the legislative elections of 2004, the PSD gained the largest share of the vote but because it did not have a majority, all the other major parties formed the Justice and Truth alliance, which managed to gain a parliamentary majority and is currently in government, consigning the PSD to opposition.
Considered a young reformer, Geoană was elected president of the party in April 2005 by delegates at a PSD Party Congress held in Bucharest. His victory represented a surprise defeat for former President Ion Iliescu, who was expected to defeat Geoană handily. Geoană's win was attributed by the media to last minute backroom dealing by party leaders opposed to Iliescu as well as to public gaffes made by Iliescu at the Party Congress, including using allegedly old communist terms when referring to his party colleagues.

Leadership of FSN, FDSN, PDSR and PSD

'Presidents'

★ Ion Iliescu 1990-1992

★ Oliviu Gherman 1992-1996

★ Ion Iliescu 1997-2000

★ Adrian Năstase 2000-2005 (acting to 2001)

★ Mircea Geoană 2005-present
'Executive presidents'

★ Adrian Năstase 1993-1997

★ Octav Cozmâncă 2003-2005

★ Adrian Năstase 2005-2006

★ Dan Mircea Popescu 2005-2006, when the office was dissolved (nominated Ad interim after the resignation of Adrian Năstase from the office)
Adrian Năstase temporarily "self-suspended" himself from the position on January 16, 2006 pending investigation of a scandal provoked by his wealth declaration, where he was accused of corruption.

Criticism and allegations

PSD has been often criticised for harbouring former Romanian Communist Party officials, and for attempting to control the Romanian mass media. A number of its senior members have also been accused of corruption, including interfering in the judiciary and using their political positions for personal enrichment.
Closely guarded text transcripts of PSD meetings surfaced on an anonymous Web site just before the 2004 Romanian presidential election. Năstase and his ministers are shown talking about political involvement in corruption trials of the government's members, or involvement in suppressing "disobedient" media. Năstase stated that the transcripts were fake, but several party members, including current PSD president and former Foreign Minister Mircea Geoană, have said they are indeed genuine.

See also

★ Politics of Romania

★ List of political parties in Romania

External links

★ Official website

★ Transcripts of PSD meetings

★ "Geoană admitted PSD stenograms were genuine", in ''Ziua''