Abstract
This chapter focuses on two leaders belonging to influential parties in Romanian politics: Emil Boc (PDL) and Victor Ponta (PSD). We aimed to include those leaders that would allow an analysis of the relationship between their personality and behavior, and the general evolution of the party. Our analysis, consistent with the general goal of this book, seeks to test the leadership’s impact on party organization in terms of electoral performance, intra-party cohesion and membership. Both party leaders were also prime ministers in turbulent times, which makes the comparison even more interesting.
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Notes
- 1.
There were a few situations in which the composition of the government changed between elections the parties left or were excluded from government, e.g. PDL in 2007, PSD in 2009. The two technocratic government (Isărescu 1999 and Cioloș 2016) were not considered when calculating the presence of the PDL and PSD.
- 2.
Nicolae Titulescu was a famous political figure in between the wars, when he served as Minister of External Affairs. Năstase himself a former Minister of External Affairs was a great fan of Titulescu, and considered both the skills and the appearance of Victor Ponta to bear a striking resemblance to the historical figure.
- 3.
The Social Liberal Union (USL), formed in 2011, included four parties out of which this chapter emphasizes the most important two: the PSD and the Liberals. Two other minor parties—the Conservatives and the UNPR—were part of the USL, but their role was marginal and with little relevance for our discussion.
- 4.
Victor Ponta won the leadership in 2010, but we only have data available for 2008, as such the total increase should be also attributed to the previous leadership of Mircea Geoană, but it is reasonable to assume that the upward trend was maintained during Ponta’s first term.
- 5.
The membership rolls for both parties come from the Official Party Registry, the Permanent Electoral Authority in Romania and Gherghina (2014).
- 6.
Romanian Democratic Convention (CDR) was an electoral alliance of several center-right political parties in Romania, active between 1991 and 2000.
- 7.
For 2004 (DA) and 2012 (USL) we calculated the percentage of votes having as a point of reference the number of parliamentary seats for each party, based on the distribution algorithms established within each alliance.
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Volintiru, C., Gherghina, S. (2020). Party Leaders in Romania: Designated Successors or Tactical Players?. In: Gherghina, S. (eds) Party Leaders in Eastern Europe. Palgrave Studies in Political Psychology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32025-6_9
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