PSD Leader Geoana Launches Ineffective Attack On President Basescu

The Social Democrat Party, PSD, in opposition, held its National Council in Targu Mures, central Romania, as if to prove the party was standing firm behind the idea of a Romanian national state and against Hungarian extremists who want the post WWII order revised.

The speeches, however, showed the party was unable to distance itself from its own political past and turn to a new approach.

The PSD president Mircea Geoana ranted against president Traian Basescu; this managed to put him in the headlines better than the debate over the party’s reform would have had.
Was this a 180 degrees change in attitude? After all, the PSD spared so far the Democrat Party, PD, and its former leader, Basescu, and went only after the other major partner in the ruling coalition, the National Liberal Party, PNL, and its leader, PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu.

If we revisit the not so distant history, when the PSD was also in opposition, by the end of 1998, in the second year in office of the Christian Democrat alliance, the trends were firmly in place: the ruling parties where climbing down in the public’s support, while the PSD was constantly going up.

We are now in the second year in office of the current center-right alliance. In spite of plenty of reasons for the population to be discontent with the quality of government, the trends of eight years ago are not mirrored in the present. The ruling coalition stays at around 50%, while the PSD is climbing down.

Why is that?
The PSD leaders assembled in Targu Mures attempted to arrive at a conclusion. Some said the infighting which lasted for more than a year alienated the public. The local party dons are sure the infighting will end with their win on 10 December, when a new party conference is scheduled.

However, I believe the reason why the main opposition party refrained from going after Basescu and his former party, the PD, and did not give them the tough treatment was entirely self-serving.
The PSD dons and party leaders are most afraid of the anticorruption prosecutors coming on their heels to check on the way they build their fortunes hence would do anything to not stir Basescu’s ire.

The attacks are ineffective, because they are toothless, and PSD is unable to present the electorate with a personality of equal stature to Basescu’s. Geoana is unable to fill the shoes of Ion Iliescu or Adrian Nastase, who led the party before him.
So, Geoana’s ranting at Targu Mures was only strident, not effective, and not really able to turn the party around.