Politicians play with our freedom

One of the main problems revealed by the public opinion barometer, conducted upon request of the Open Society Foundation, is the deepening rift between the political class and the citizens. Romanians’ distrust in politicians is successfully converging to zero, and this, sooner or later, threatens to generate disastrous results. After all, who will the Romanian citizen look at, baffled by the scandals, anxious about tomorrow, weary of empty promises?

Before attempting to answer this question, it would be preferable to see an x-ray of the citizen-politician relationship, as it appears in the Metro Media Transilvania poll. Only 9% of the Romanians trust political parties, while 83% distrust them. According to the previous polls, attitude toward parties has constantly worsened lately and only in October 1999 confidence was one point lower than now. Parliament, another indicator of the citizen-politician relationship, is well-regarded also by 9% of the Romanians, whereas 86% have no confidence in it.

It should be noted that trade unions themselves – who also have a role of representation, although only among group interests – are getting credit from only 14% of the interviewed. On the other hand, the church and the army retain high confidence rates, 85% and 73% respectively. The number of undecided and of those determined to skip the vote has risen to 48%, a level matched only by the June 1998 polls. On the other hand, in July 1996 only 25% of the citizens shared this position.

As the sociologists that presented the poll pointed out, the citizen therefore grows increasingly reserved about politicians. He has no confidence and does not want a part in what seems to be the only moment when he matters in political life – the election.

But sooner or later, he will make a choice. Isolation and apathy may help a new character to take the front stage. A character that could be more than just a different party, considering the modest impact of a party that designed itself as an alternative – UFD, and the role of a locomotive Teodor Melescanu had in pulling his party up the polls.

Those indifferent and disappointed seem willing to accept at least two variants: either a technocrat that will credibly promise to pull the economy out of the crisis, or a hero that promises to bring order into the national chaos. For the former case, the arguments are the high rates enjoyed by Theodor Stolojan and Mugur Isarescu (who has the assurance of trust from 39% of the Romanians and is only two points below Ion Iliescu). For the latter, we can rely again on the MMT poll, according to which 46% of the Romanians believe law and order in the country are the most important. To this adds the solid belief in the army and the church, the two institutions that stand out in hierarchical discipline, as well as the high rates of confidence for two characters that conquered the public with charisma: Teodor Melescanu and Corneliu Vadim Tudor, credited by 34% and 25%, respectively.

Of course, another (desirable) variant is reform of the political class. Easier said than done, because it threatens today’s leaders. Even a radical change of image is hard to accomplish. As some theoreticians have rightfully noted, an abrupt change in the traditional image can ruin a politician. For instance, a temperate Basescu, speaking like a university professor, would be doomed. Those who like him are first of all fascinated by his “direct speech” and his habit of “slapping faces” (a smaller-scale lone ranger), and a radical change of image would make his fans think he “went along with the others.”

The problem is that however difficult, the politicians, even those in secondary echelons, will have to deal with the situation. Parties will have to find a solution to win back people’s confidence in the political class, because otherwise there is the risk that in a crisis, the populace will look at a charismatic person with an allure of a redeeming hero, than at a technocrat or a young politician, fresh out of college and into politics. And this hero may not pay attention to the democratic code.

Things can be expected to grow worse as Iliescu disappears from the political stage. Iliescu is a catalyst for many of the unhappy. With his record of a man trained in the communist period, Iliescu comes with exceptional credentials to those Romanians who long for the order and life in the golden era. They would rather be willing to take on a hero, a deliverer, who will come up with a radical “salvation” solution, than to some politician, even from the PDSR.

And it is just too risky to leave the choice between these two categories to chance. At least for those people who want to be free without emigrating.