Ion Iliescu: Encyclopedia II - Ion Iliescu - After the 1989 Revolution

Ion Iliescu - After the 1989 Revolution

Iliescu was the main figure of the period immediately following the Revolution that overthrew Nicolae Ceauşescu in December 1989, as well as the main person to benefit from it, as his leadership was quickly aknowledged within the inner circle of revolutionary leaders.

As the leader of the provisional authority, Iliescu declared that he wished for Romania to become an original democracy. This is widely held to have meant the adoption of Perestroika-style reforms rather than the complete removal of existing institutions; it can be linked to the warm reception the new regime was given in Mikhail Gorbachev and the rest of the Soviet leadership, and the fact that the first post-revolutionary international agreement signed by Romania was with that country. In later yers, he amended and further explained this initially vague statement by expressing his distrust for the clear, no inbetween choice of Capitalism versus Socialism, evoking the possibility of a Swedish model (most likely, a reference to large-scale state ownership).

The National Salvation Front (FSN: Frontul Salvării Naţionale) was originally meant to be organizing the free legislative elections on 20 May 1990, and afterward disband itself - however, it eventually ran in the elections, which it won with over 85% of the votes.

As a founding member, Iliescu followed the Front in its new avatars: the NSDF (National Salvation Democratic Front), then the Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR), then the Social Democratic Party (SDP) (see Social Democratic Party of Romania). Progresively, the Front lost its character as a national government or generic coalition, and became vulnerable to criticism for using its appeal as the first institution involved in power sharing, while enganging itself in political battles with forces that could not enjoy this artificial status (nor the credibility). Iliescu himself came to be seen as hostile to a proper civic society, and more commited to a revised version of democratic centralism.

Under the pressure of the events that led to the Mineriads, his political stance has veered with time: from a proponent of the Perestroika, Iliescu became a neophyte social democrat, alligning himself with the Western European political spectrum. The main debate around the subject of his commitment to such ideals is linked to the special conditions in Romania, and especially to the strong nationalst and autarkic attitude visible within the Ceauşescu regime. Most critics have pointed out that, unlike most communist-to-social democrat changes in the Eastern bloc, Romania's tended to retain various cornerstones (sometimes expressed with scandalous traits - to the Mineriads themselves can be added the slogan of Iliescu supporters in the early 1990s, Noi nu ne vindem ţara! - "We will not sell off our country!").

The new Constitution was adopted in 1991, and in 1992 he won a second term when he recieved 61% of the votes. According to political analysts like Daniel Barbu or Dan Pavel, his election was based almost exclusively on the rural population and disoriented lower class industrial workers, controlled through manipulation from the state-controlled media (Televiziunea Română, the state television, was the only widescale TV channel until 1993). He ran for a third time in 1996 but, stripped of media monopoly, that of virtually all urban citizens and even of some traditional votes, he lost to Emil Constantinescu. Over 1,000,000 votes have been cancelled, facing prospects of wide-spread fraud.

In the 2000 presidential election Iliescu ran again and won in the run-off against the ultra-nationalist Corneliu Vadim Tudor and began his third term on December 20 of that year, which ended on 20 December 2004. The reverseal in attitudes is attributed to the harsh economical reform and parallel (albeit partial) political instabilty during Constantinescu's term in office. Tudor's extreme views also ensured that most urban voters either abstained or chose Iliescu.

In the SDP elections of 21 April 2005, Iliescu lost the Party presidency to Mircea Geoană.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "After the 1989 Revolution", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki