Peasants' Party (Romania)
Peasants' Party Partidul Țărănesc | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | PȚ |
| Founded | 1918 |
| Dissolved | 10 October 1926 |
| Merged into | National Peasants' Party |
| Ideology | Agrarianism Poporanism Agrarian socialism |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| Colors | Green |
The Peasants' Party (
Narodnik ideas. In 1926, it united with the Romanian National Party to form the National Peasants' Party
(PNȚ).
Background
In the years between Romania's proclamation as a
landowners
(the Conservatives) or the emerging urban elite (the National Liberals).
The problems posed by the rigid political structure were doubled by social issues culminating in the
niches, including leasehold estates that drew hostility from landless peasants who were generally underpaid for work provided (a source for the partially antisemitic
message of the 1907 revolt).
Creation and activities
Although preceded by attempts to create a peasant party that would challenge the existing situation (began in the 1880s with a group around
Russian Bessarabia), which gave way to new economic realities - an industrial base in Transylvania, and a largely enfranchised peasantry in Bessarabia (which had always been excepted from serfdom). The political foundation was shaken by the disappearance of the Conservative Party (and the fading out of conservative politics in Romania), due mainly to extended suffrage and the pro-German attitudes of the Party at the outbreak of the war. While this opened the political scene to other options, it also further solidified the PNL's supremacy for the following years, and the popularity of the Liberal leader Ion I. C. Brătianu
.
The Peasants' Party was founded in
; for a while during 1919, the united party existed under the name Peasants' and Laborer Party (Partidul Țărănesc și Muncitor), before again adopting the 1918 version.Especially considering its recent emergence, the Party registered a major success in the 1919
Chamber and Senate (Mihalache and Bujor respectively) and positions in the cabinet of Alexandru Vaida-Voevod. However, the following period was to prove a highly problematic one for the country at large, marked by violent incidents and a succession of decreed states of siege. The first truly representative Parliament was split over the question of land reform
, with the PȚ advocating more profound changes than the one promised in 1917. The situation led to the dissolving of the Parliament and the end of the Vaida-Voevod cabinet in March–April 1920.
Alliance policy and creation of the PNȚ
These changes probably benefitted
People's Party) was charged by the King with forming his second cabinet, the PȚ leadership made public its fears that the move was merely a means for the PNL to ensure a transitional period before yet another mandate. It was isolated for a while in 1921, when Nicolae Iorga attacked the PȚ's Constantin Stere for his support of the Central Powers
during the war, a criticism echoed by all political forces.
To combat the Liberal hegemony, the PȚ had already started negotiations with other opposition groups, including the
Ion Inculeţ
joined the National Liberals in 1923), the PȚ publicized an alliance with the PNR in June 1924, but the two split after just days over disagreements between Stere and the PNR.
New talks ushered in by Averescu's nomination in 1926 led to a compromise between Maniu and Mihalache. On October 10 of that year, the two parties joined into the
Constituent Assembly; the common statement on the results of the vote claimed: "this abusive gesture to be a product of the absolutist perspective on executive powers (...). Today's Assemblies (...) have deliberated and voted a so-called fundamental pact under the threat of the brutal force of machine guns and bayonets
".
Legacy
The Peasant Party's legacy was soon claimed by splinter groups of the PNȚ, all of which situated themselves more to the
left than the latter: in early 1927, Nicolae L. Lupu formed Peasants' Party–Lupu; Stere left the PNȚ following an inner-party clash, and founded the Democratic Peasants' Party–Stere which later merged with another dissident faction, Grigore Iunian's Radical Peasants' Party. Democratic Peasants' Party was also the name taken by a post-World War II group led by Lupu as a new dissidence (after he had rejoined the PNȚ); it was favorable to a collaboration with the Soviet Union, and adhered to alliances formed around the Romanian Communist Party
.
A more left-wing tendency linked with the Peasants' Party tradition remained present and distinct within the PNȚ. It was represented by, among others, Ernest Ene, Mihail Ghelmegeanu, Petre Andrei, and Armand Călinescu.
Notable members
- Zamfir Arbore
- Octav Băncilă
- Ioan Borcea
- Paul Bujor
- Armand Călinescu
- Nicolae Costăchescu
- Ernest Ene
- Mihail Ghelmegeanu
- Dimitrie Gusti
- Pan Halippa
- Iorgu Iordan
- Grigore Iunian
- Nicolae L. Lupu
- Virgil Madgearu
- Ion Mihalache
- Constantin Ion Parhon
- Victor Ion Popa
- Pamfil Șeicaru
- Constantin Stere
- Adolphe Stern
Electoral history
Legislative elections
| Election | Votes | % | Assembly | Senate | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | 61 / 568
|
28 / 216
|
4th | ||
| 1920 | 25 / 366
|
10 / 166
|
4th | ||
| 1922 | 40 / 372
|
11 / 148
|
2nd | ||
| 1926 | 16,824 | 0.7 | 0 / 387
|
0 / 115
|
8th |
Notes
References
- Vasile Niculae, Ion Ilincioiu, Stelian Neagoe, Doctrina țărănistă în România. Antologie de texte ("Peasant doctrine in Romania. Collected Texts"), Editura Noua Alternativă, Social Theory Institute of the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, 1994
- (in Romanian) Dumitru Șandru, Satul românesc între anii 1918-1946. Consideraţii privind condiţiile de muncă şi de viaţă ale ţărănimii
- (in Romanian) Ioan Scurtu, "Prăbușirea unui mit", in Magazin Istoric (relations between Averescu, the PNR, and the PNŢ, in 1921)
- (in Romanian) Act confirming the creation of the Peasant's Party (December 1918)
- (in Romanian) Program of the National Peasants' Party (October 1926)
- (in Romanian) The National Peasants' Party declaration upon the adoption of Romania's 1923 Constitution