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National Liberal Party (PNL)

Bitter wrangling within the the center-right National Liberal Party (PNL), Romania's historic liberal party, is entirely in character with its turbulent post-1989 history. It split into six parties in the early nineties, lost its parliamentary representation in 1992 and reunited only with great difficulty in the late 1990s. The party always had difficulty in finding good candidates to fill key government posts. Cristian David's perennial candidacy for whatever new government vacancy emerged was a good example of this. The Democratic Party was better than the PNL in recruiting attractive "new faces."

Respected even by his political foes, including President Iliescu, Teodor Stolojan was known for his bridge building ability in a party (and a nation) often notorious for its fractious infighting. Indeed, Stolojan played a central role in reorganizing the PNL following the center-right,s electoral debacle in the 2000 general elections. Many within the party felt, however, that the urbane, soft-spoken Stolojan lacked sufficient street fighting skills to tangle with the powerful PSD machine during the 2004 presidential contest.

Calin Popescu-Tariceanu consolidated his leadership position within the PNL following former PNL leader and presidential candidate Teodor Stolojan's unexpected resignation from the presidential campaign and PNL leadership 02 October 2004. Theodor Stolojan remained a key player within the PNL despite his official resignation from the presidential campaign and party politics this fall for undisclosed health reasons. some sources cite longstanding kidney ailments as the source of his woes. Prior to his withdrawal from the campaign, many observers remarked on his waxen complexion, dark circles under his eyes and generally haggard demeanor.

Stolojan strengths were unconventional ones -- the public saw him as cold, capable, honest, stubborn, and determined--a "Germanic" candidate who still nevertheless connected with a "Latin" electorate. Stolojan's appeal was precisely because he never appeared motivated by a desire for personal power or self-interest; his message was "I'm here to serve you..."

Respected businessman Calin Popescu Tariceanu, was a PNL stalwart and leading party figure since the early 1990s. Within the party, Tariceanu is widely viewed as a conciliatory force, managing to avoid being too closely identified with any of the party's factions. Tariceanu was Minister of Commerce and Industry from 1996 to 1997. His political adversaries cried foul during his ministerial tenure when one of his companies struck a deal with the national telecommunications company, RomTeleCom.

His polished, urbane style coupled with a certain gravitas made him a logical pick for PNL-PD Alliance spokesman in 2003. Although he lacked the national name recognition of the center-left Social Democratic Party (PSD) PM designee FM Mircea Geoana, Tariceanu's calm and collected style distinguishes him in a political atmosphere often characterized by hyperbole and florid rhetoric. He is a good foil for rough-hewn President-elect Basescu. One criticism occasionally aimed at Tariceanu by PNL insiders is that his relatively laid back style is perhaps a smidgen too relaxed for the hurly-burly of partisan politics; during the campaign, for example, Tariceanu reportedly insisted on regular rest days. Tariceanu also is proud of his success as a "self made man," having amassed a personal fortune through holding an exclusive franchise for Citroen sales in Romania. A respected and accessible interlocutor, Tariceanu speaks excellent English, is married and has two children.

Romania's governing coalition consisted of the center-right National Liberal Party (PNL) and the centrist Democratic Party (PD). By 2006 President and de facto PD leader Traian Basescu had publicly expressed his doubts about the future of the PNL-PD Alliance, which was the vehicle by which he was elected in December 2004. He has also expressed, in the clear terms, animosity toward Prime Minister and PNL leader Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, saying that he regrets having named him premier. Basescu said he saw "no future" for the pact between the two parties after Romania's anticipated EU accession on January 1, 2007.

The Justice and Truth Alliance (D.A.) came apart and the Democrat Party got out of the government. This coalition unraveled due to enmity between the President and Prime Minister by April 2007. Tariceanu, the PNL leader, fired all ministers belonging to Basescu’s former party, the Democrats (PD), and formed a minority government with the ethnic Hungarian UDMR party.

On 18 October 2006, the leadership of a Bucharest PNL branch expelled Valeriu Stoica, president of the PNL in 2001-2002 and deputy PNL president from 1997-2001. Ten days earlier, former PNL president from 2002-2004 (and ex-Prime Minister) Theodor Stolojan was stripped of party membership under similar circumstances. Both were accused of violating party discipline and making statements critical of the party leadership. In late September, two young and promising PNL deputies, Raluca Turcan and Cristian Boureanu, were also expelled by the top party executive body. Earlier in the month, another critic (and possible future rival) of PM Tariceanu, former minister of culture and PNL vice-president Mona Musca, was ousted for alleged collaboration with the communist-era Securitate.

Although expelled for different reasons and by different party bodies, all these former PNL personalities shared a common critical stance vis--vis the current PNL leadership and especially of PNL president, PM Calin Popescu-Tariceanu. Over the past year, party dissidents have attacked Tariceanu for blocking a planned merger between the PNL and PD, and for political cronyism, adoption of an increasingly autocratic leadership style, and his surprise demand for withdrawal of Romanian troops from Iraq. The other common denominator of the dissidents was a positive relationship with Basescu, who is in turn anathema to Tariceanu, his circle of young political lieutenants, and the Prime Minister's principal financial backer, Dinu Patriciu.

PNL failed to capitalize on its opposition status during the economic crisis, and by August 2009 found its presidential candidate Crin Antonescu running anywhere from third to fifth in polls. Pundits and party insiders accurately perceived Antonescu as an unconvincing candidate, hamstrung by a weak party structure, intra-party divisions and a lack of fresh ideas on the campaign trail. Statements in the presidential candidate's platform that suggest a mild foreign policy tilt away from the U.S. and toward Russia appear to lack substance and seem designed to distinguish the party from Basescu's perceived pro-American positions. The PNL risked being defined by the public (and us) as viscerally anti-Basescu, and little else.

PNL was the unanimously perceived loser of the June European Parliamentary elections. In contrast to the Liberal Democrats (PDL) and Social Democrats (PSD), which both performed as expected with 30 percent, the Liberals mustered only 14 percent of the vote, short of their target of 20. PNL's weaknesses were numerous: loss of incumbent seats and a resulting drop in party morale; new, untested leadership; insufficient activism; and disorganized branches in many communities. In addition, several Antonescu consultants describe the party's decision-making process as chaotic, the chain of command slow to respond to new challenges, and the get-out-the-vote effort unfocused -- especially in urban areas. The party also lacked PDL's and PSD's experience in vote counting and developing records of voting patterns.

Crin Antonescu's leadership provided a further area of concern for party consultants. Many saw him as soft, at times overwhelmed by the party's numerous issues. Party discipline is weak, as was the sense of solidarity around Antonescu. Despite bringing close associates of former Prime Minister and PNL Chairman Calin Popescu Tariceanu on board Antonescu's campaign team, the party still appeared divided into two camps, a testament to Antonescu's lack of skill in winning over rivals.

PNL's voice had rarely been loud enough for PDL and PSD -- the two most popular parties -- to interrupt their constant bickering. Antonescu's campaign trips all but stopped after the EP elections. Moreover, he continued to top the list of members most absent from Parliament. In mid-2009 PNL gained some visibility by sponsoring and chairing two ad-hoc parliamentary committees to investigate PDL ministers Monica Iacob-Ridzi and Elena Udrea, but this alone was unlikely to win significant electoral support.

PNL's presidential strategy in 2009 aimed to have the party expand and aggregate around its candidate, more in the American style than the European model centered on ideology and party. If elected, Antonescu promised to be "a different kind of President," and he kicked off his presidential bid with Obama-like slogans emphasizing positive change. However, Antonescu speeches tend toward stale denunciations of what the PNL casts as Basescu's egregious misconduct in office.

In terms of relations with the U.S., Antonescu's presidential platform contained a vague call "for a re-founding of the partnership with the United States" based on Romania's having achieved full membership in NATO and the EU. "The first step of this process would be clarifying the issue of entry visas for the United States," the platform document declares. Until the mid-2000s, PNL was the most pro-Western party in Romania. However, during the 2005-2008 government of PNL Prime Minister Tariceanu, the party opposed Basescu's pro-Americanism. For example, in 2006 high-level PNL members unilaterally announced Romania's pullout from Iraq.

While suggesting a more "balanced" approach toward the U.S., Antonsecu's electoral platform also recommended a positive shift towards Russia: "As President of Romania, relations with the Russian Federation represent a priority of my foreign policy project... Relations with Russia have had areas of inadmissible hovering, reflective of (an) inability to grasp the strategic importance of good relations with the Eastern neighbor."

The PNL's major priority is to differentiate itself from Basescu and capitalize on its perception of Basescu's mismanagement of Romanian-Russian relations. In the view of PNL leaders Basescu erred by creating an adversarial relationship with the Russians during the winter 2008-2009 natural gas crisis, thereby damaging Romanian economic interests. Faced with internal malaise and a daunting set of challenges, the party seemeds unable to raise its sights beyond the visceral anti-Basescu sentiment that determines its positions.