People’s Party (Interwar Romania)

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People’s Party (interwar Romania)

“Partidul Poporului” redirects here. For the modernorganization, see People’s Party – Dan Diaconescu.

The People’s Party (Romanian: Partidul Poporului ,PP), originally People’s League (Liga Poporului ), wasan eclectic, essentially populist, mass movement inRomania. Created by World War I hero AlexandruAverescu, it identified itself with the new politics of"Greater Romania" period, and existed for almost as longas Greater Romania did. The PP broke with the an-

tiquated two-party system, creating a wide coalition oflobbies, and advertised itself as the new challenge to theNational Liberal Party (PNL). The group was held to-gether by Averescu’s charisma, and was popularly knownas partidul averescan, “the Averescan party”.

In its early years, the League brought together membersof the moribund Conservative Party and social reformersof diverse backgrounds, andsecured for itself thevotes ofpoor peasants and demobilized soldiers. Its platform ap-pealedto antisemites and Jews, social liberalsand fascists,loyalists and republicans. Averescu’s doubts about staginga revolution, and to some degree the Averescans’ rejec-

tion of political radicalism, meant that the League waspushed into a partnership with the PNL. Averescu’s riseto power was confirmed in the 1920 election and then byhis heavy-handed approach to labor unrest. The govern-ment initiated sweeping reforms, but was brought downwhen it rebelled against the PNL’s paternalism.

Victorious in the 1926 election, the PP became a directopponent of the National Peasants’ Party, and lost thePNL’s tactical support. It failed to regroup itself and, in1932, was divided in half—its radical wing having be-come the National Agrarian Party. The PP continuedas a marginal presence in political life, steadily losing

votes to the fascist and antisemitic parties. It was offi-cially dissolved along with all other democratic parties inearly 1938, by which time it had been forced to registerAverescu’s own resignation.

1 History

1.1 Origins

Averscan populism had its roots firmly planted in the

troubled years of World War I, and was a direct answer tothe military disaster of 1917. In summer 1916, keepingup with the orthodox irredentist (“Greater Romanian”)

agenda, a PNL-governed Romania had joinedthe EntentePowers. The general mood was one of romantic opti-mism, which cast away Romania’s endemic social prob-lems, including the stringent issues of electoral and landreform: the majority of Romanian conscripts were land-less peasants, rendered politically marginal by the censussuffrage.[2]

Although “Greater Romanian” plans were already in cir-culation, the"Old Kingdom" found itself tackled bysocialconflicts. Tensions exploded with the 1907 Peasants’ Re-

volt, when General Averescu was called on by the PNLto organize the violent repression. This incident was laterinvoked against his claim to represent the interests of Ro-manian peasants.[3][4][5] It was also the start of a bitter ri-valry between Averescu and the PNL Prime Minister, IonI. C. Brătianu. From 1918 to 1927, their problematic re-lationship was to be a national affair, affecting the courseof Romanian politics. As historian Gheorghe I. Florescuwrites, in the course of it Brătianu went from a “manic”mistrust of Averescu to a more benevolent arrogance.[3]

Between 1907 and the entry into the world war, the PNLgovernments had been under pressure to generate a feasi-

ble land reform project.[6] Even more reluctant, the op-position Conservatives became split into factions: thetraditional wing, led by Alexandru Marghiloman, was"Germanophile", and reserved about the “Greater Roma-nia” project; the Conservative-Democratic Party, underTake Ionescu, had a history of cooperation with the PNL,and gave full endorsement to the Entente.[7] Before thewar, Averescu tended to support the Conservative side,gravitating between Marghiloman and Ionescu.[3]

The 1916 attempt to swiftly conquer Transylvania andBukovina from Austria-Hungary was unsuccessful, andRomania found herself invaded by the Central Powers.

Supported by the Russian Empire, the Romanian author-ities only held on to the easternmost area, Moldavia, andit was there that General Averescu helped organize aterritorial defense. The death toll became massive: by1919, perhaps one tenth of Romania’s population hadbeen lost to the war.[8] King Ferdinand I, the PNL gov-ernment, and some of the opposition were in consensusabout keeping up resistance. Visiting his peasant troopsin April 1917, Ferdinand issued a formal promise of landreform, and hinted that some political reform was alsobeing considered.[9]

However, the February Revolution in Russia dealt a seri-

ous blow to military cooperation in Moldavia—Russia’sProvisional Government was largely unable to control its

1

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2 1 HISTORY

military.[10] The October Revolution, and then the Treatyof Brest-Litovsk, left Romania without allied support, apassive witness to the Russian Civil War. Faced withthe prospect of an all-out Central Powers’ offensive inMoldavia, Ferdinand made Averescu his Prime Minis-ter. To the PNL, he was an enigma: some perceived

him as a dangerous pacifist, a Conservative, or an “under-taker”of thehistoric parties; othersbelieved hima conve-nient figurehead, who diverted attention from Brătianu’smaneuvering.[3] He was expected to negotiate a dignifiedpeace between Romania and her enemies, but was un-able to obtain the necessary consensus, and handed in hisresignation; a Conservative and “Germanophile” govern-ment was sworn in, and its leader Marghiloman sealedthe Peace of Buftea-Bucharest, noted for its demeaningconcessions to the Central Powers.[11][12][13]

1.2 Creating the League

“The Brătianu family cartel”. A hostile portrayal (with anantisemitic tinge) by Nicolae Petrescu-Găină. Indicative of themix of feelings that went into creating anti-establishment partiessuch as the League

Ruling over a vaguely defined Romanian territory, theMarghiloman cabinet took it upon itself to carry out the

reforms. Ina mood of general hostility towardthePNL, itfocused on dismantling the National Liberal institutions,promising to build the country on new foundations. [14]

It was in this climate that Averescu created his People’sLeague, on April 3, 1918. Its nucleus was a personalasso-ciationbetween Averescu and the Conservative dissentersConstantin Argetoianu and Matei Cantacuzino.[12] Theassociation was formed at Cantacuzino’s townhouse inIași, and also counted among its founding members the

Conservatives Duiliu Zamfirescu, Constantin C. Arionand Grigore Filipescu, soldiers Grigore C. Crăiniceanu,Sebastian S. Eustatziu and Gheorghe Văleanu, and politi-cal philosopher P. P. Negulescu.[12][15] Through the affil-iations of Negulescu and Ion Petrovici, the League estab-lished a connection with the doctrines of Old Kingdomliberal conservatism, as codified in the 19th century byphilosopher Titu Maiorescu.[16]

In occupied Bucharest, the People’s League was sup-ported by a parallel “League of Common Good”, foundedby physicist Enric Otetelișanu.[17] He later helped setup Averescan clubs in northern Muntenia.[18] On the

left side, the early League incorporated a Molda-vian proletarian wing, or “Labor Party”, representedby Grigore Trancu-Iași and other activists.[12][19] Fromthe very first moment, the Averescans were joined bya splinter group of the Democratic Nationalist Party(PND), whose leader was a Moldavian academic, A. C.Cuza. The PND was a nationwide antisemitic movementfounded by historian Nicolae Iorga, and Cuza’s men hadalways been its racist wing, called “grotesque” and “ob-sessive” by Veiga.[20] Divided over this issue, butalso overwar-era policies, the two PND leaders were avoiding eachother in 1918; Cuza, Ion Zelea Codreanu and Corneliu

Șumuleanu effectively organized a PND schism by sign-ing their adhesion to the League.[21]

The PNL’s ruin offered a chance to other anti-systemic,radically reformist, political forces. One of them was thePeasants’ Party (PȚ), led by schoolteacher Ion Mihalache.Although the League and PȚ would eventually competewith one another, and divide between them the “LaborParty”,[22] they were, according to political scientist IonuțCiobanu, created in the same mold.[23]

Eventually, the League adopted an anti-PNL platformpromising full reforms, including universal male suffrage.The more innovative point among these was a commit-

ment to punishing those guilty of “abuse and mistakes”,a barely disguised reference to Brătianu’s policies.[24] Itran under this platform in the 1918 election, without im-pressing the voters.[25] The suffrage was more of a per-sonal triumph for Averescu, who joined the Assemblyof Deputies as a progressive, watching over the govern-ment’s fulfillment of reforms, and denouncing the peaceagreements; he envisioned an alliance with the PNL, butasked for Brătianu to renounce the party presidency.[12]

He also submitted the League to his personal authority:in October 1918, he forced Grigore Filipescu out of theparty, accusing him of factionalism.[12] Twomonths later,

Cuza and his men returned to the PND, but, to Iorga’s irri-tation, continued to cooperate closely with the Averescanmovement.[26]

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1.4 Arrival to power 3

The Marghiloman project came to an abrupt halt inNovember 1918, when the Armistice with Germanyspelled out a world victory for the Entente forces, andopened new prospects for the union with Transylvania.The PNL was swiftly returned to power by King Ferdi-nand, but the political turmoil required emergency apolit-

ical rule, and General Artur Văitoianu took over as PrimeMinister.[27]

1.3 1919 elections

An overconfident headline of Îndreptarea , the League’s mainnewspaper, after the election of 1919. It reads: “Elections un-der the Military Dictatorship. Defeat for the Brătianu Dynasty”

Văitoianu’s favoritism of the PNL, and his fear of left-wing rebellion, sparked a conflict between governmentand the recently founded Socialist Partyof Romania (PS).For a while, the anti-PNL Averescans and Conservative-Democrats (the “United Opposition”) even negotiatedwith the PS leaders for a common boycott of the comingelection.[12][28] These negotiations opened the door toother common projects: Argetoianu and Văleanu were

especially close to the PS' republican platform, whilethe general favored a crowned republic.[29] Snubbed bythe returning king and by Brătianu (though receivedwith sympathy by Queen Marie), Averescu warned thata “revolution” was inevitable. He was bluffing, butthe statements he issued managed to unnerve the PNLleadership.[12]

In fact, early 1919 marked the official end of Ro-mania’s two-party system. The unexpected confirma-tion of Greater Romania had pushed Marghiloman’sConservatives, vilified for their “Germanophilia” andridiculed for their minuscule membership, into the elec-

toral margin.[30] Marghiloman made one final attempt torecover the losses, relaunching the Conservative group asa “Conservative-Progressive Party”. According to histo-rian Francisco Veiga, this was a “phantasmagorical partywith an impossible name”, confirming the Conservatives’self-defeat rather than the PNL’s restoration.[31] Pow-erful Conservative sections, such as the one in NeamțCounty, were already defecting to Averescu’s League,[32]

described by sociologist Dimitrie Drăghicescu as a mag-net for Conservative “wrecks and morsels”.[33]

Averescu’s group had a weak start in regular politics dur-ing the 1919 election, the first one to be carried out

throughout Greater Romania, and the Romanians’ firstexperience of universal male suffrage. Although popular,the League was undecided about whether to validate Văi-

toianu’s handling of the vote, and only decided to boycottthe election after its candidates had signed in. As a re-sult, only some of thevoters abstained, andlikely winners,such as General Gheorghe Cantacuzino-Grănicerul inVâlcea, ended up in non-eligible third places.[34] Averescubelieved that the moment to strike had not yet arrived,

but, according to Marghiloman, he had missed out on agreat opportunity.[12]

In the end, only 1.2% of the Greater Romania inhabi-tants opted for its Assembly of Deputies candidates,[35]

when Marghiloman could still claim 3.8% of the to-tal Parliament votes.[31] The League’s best score was inthe geographical south of the Old Kingdom, a three-county area which would endure as its electoral reser-voir: Ialomița, Teleorman, Vlașca.[36] Nevertheless, al-though the League had never campaigned per se in the“new regions”, it received an unexpected boost in Bukov-ina, where it placed itself ahead of the PNL.[37]

The electorate was puzzled by the general’s fence-sitting,and never again regained full confidence in his politi-cal abilities.[12][38] The PȚ was most advantaged by theAverescan abstention, registering an unexpected growththroughout the enlarged country.[23][38] Zamfirescu wasassigned to oversee the League’s campaign in Bessarabia,and, like Averescu himself, promised significant regionalautonomy.[39] The laurels were taken by the BessarabianPeasants’ Party, but the Bessarabian People’s League, ar-riving to the Assembly as a minor Conservative ally, [40]

was soon absorbed into the Averescan movement.[12]

The resulting government was an agrarian coalition ofanti-PNL parties: the Transylvanian Romanian NationalParty (PNR), those Democratic Nationalists who re-mained loyal to Nicolae Iorga, and Mihalache’s PȚ. Thecoalition, headed by Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, broughttogether symbols of “new” politics, punishing the PNLbut also hostile toward Romanian conservatism.[41] Al-though absent from Parliament, Averescu exercised hisinfluence through the PNR’s Octavian Goga, and, to hiscolleagues’ amazement, obtained for himself the InternalAffairs portfolio.[12][38] He resigned just days after, fol-lowing a publicized row with Iorga.[12][42]

1.4 Arrival to power

The coalition soon managed to upset the political estab-lishment with its advocacy of total land reform. Insideand outside Parliament, the Averescans stood by the PNLand Conservative deputies in opposing Mihalache andVaida-Voevod over how land should be divided.[23] Even-tually, the Vaida-Voevod cabinet was toppled by the king,with Averescu’s tactical support, in March 1920.[43]

These events propelled Averescu to the premiership. Inhis acceptance speech, the general outlined his mission:

“to form a barrage against all attempts at leading soulsastray, against all attempts to shake up, even in the least,the social and Stately institutions"; but also to “render ef-

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4 1 HISTORY

fective the redistribution of plots among individuals”.[38]

With the spread of political awareness among the peasantvoters, Averescu became the center of a personality cult.The demobilized soldiers were persuaded that his orga-nizational abilities would reflect on political life, and thathe could bring order and stability to the enlarged state. [44]

Taking its revenge on the PNR, the Averescu adminis-tration organized a clampdown against the centrifugal lo-cal governments which still existed in the newly unitedprovinces. On April 4, 1920, Averescu shut down Bukov-ina’s administrative apparatus, although it had been rec-ognized by his predecessors in office, and set up a mono-lingual educational system.[45] The general sought to ab-sorb the entire PNR into his party, but PNR leader IuliuManiu successfully resisted his bid.[46][47]

The League’s own Transylvanian section grew to includenationalist intellectuals, angered by PNR regionalism:

Goga, Vasile Lucaci and Octavian Tăslăuanu.[24][46][48]

Some members of the Transylvanian elite followed suit.They include an aristocrat (Anton Mocsonyi de Foeni),a Greek-Catholic community leader (Ioan Suciu), a left-leaning landowner (Petru Groza),[38] a banker (TeodorMihali)[49] and an academic (Ioan Ursu).[50] Farther tothe west, in the Romanian Banat, Averescu enlisted sup-port from regional organizer Avram Imbroane and hisNational Union.[24][38]

The Averescans were in a position to attract additionalvotes from the other “new regions”. Since the ParisConference had recognized Romania’s right of terri-

torial extension under Averescu’s mandate, and sincethe government introduced the first stages of land re-form, his party registered a significant rise in popular-ity, especially among Bessarabian Romanian commu-nity (to which Averescu belonged by virtue of birth).[51]

The Bessarabian chapter, overseen by Old Kingdom im-migrant, poet Dumitru Iov,[52] had among its nativepoliticians Teodor Neaga,[53] Vladimir Bodescu[54] andVladimir Chiorescu.[55] They mounted a nationalist cam-paign against the Bessarabian Peasants’ Party, who hadsought to preserve regional autonomy.[56] The League at-tracted into its ranks several Bessarabian cadres, includ-ing Vladimir Cristi, woman activist Elena Alistar, and,

with his entire Bessarabian Peasants’ Party dissidence,Sergiu Niță.[57]

At the height of its anti-autonomy campaign, theAverescu party turned on the ethnic minorities. Thegeneral created controversy by stressing that the polit-ical parties representing minority groups needed to bedissolved.[58] Despite such rhetoric, the Averescans pur-sued a policy of practical alliances with the ethnic mi-nority political clubs, against the centralizing and nation-alist forces (PNL and the Democratic Union Party). InDobruja, they courted ethnic Bulgarians, who had notformed their own political party. Dimo Dimitriev and a

handful of conservative Bulgarians answered the call.[59]In Transylvania, the League had a Jewish Romanian can-

didate, Henric Streitman. Running on an assimilationistplatform, he failed to convince any of Transylvania’s Jew-ish voters.[60]

Such ambiguities were especially noticeable in Bukov-ina. The region’s PȚ section, headed by Dorimedont

“Dori” Popovici, defected to the League on March22, 1920.[61] It joined up with an ethnically “purified”Averescan chapter, presided upon by sociologist TraianBrăileanu.[62] A third figure in that alliance was a pro-autonomy Bukovinan German, Alfred Kohlruss.[63]

1.5 Consolidation and anticommunism

The two faces of 1920 in Romania: “The Russian Bane”,as depicted in a right-wing pamphlet...

... and Queuing for Bread , by the left-leaning artistNicolae Tonitza.

The League’s magnetism meant that Averescan sections

functioned everywhere in the country. Averescu, Flon-dor, Goga, Imbroane, Niță and Dori Popovici heldcongress on April 16, 1920, when the League was offi-

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1.6 Toppling 5

cially declared a “People’s Party”, the first political groupto register members everywhere in Greater Romania.[38]

In the Old Kingdom, the PP still relied on the influenceof military men, including General Constantin Coandăand Major Ștefan Tătărescu,[64] and, after another PNDschism, absorbed into its ranks the Cuza–Codreanu–

Șumuleanu faction.[65] Also in the Old Kingdom, a sec-tion of the PP soon broke off, organizing itself as the“People’s Party Dissidents”.[66]

The spring 1920 election was a comfortable victory forthe PP. It received 42% of the national vote for theAssembly,[67] and 44.6% of the total.[68] This was the firstappearance of an electoral phenomenon known as “gov-ernment dowry”, meaning that theparty in government bythe time of the election could expect to win it.[69] More-over, the Premier pioneered the use of state channelsfor the distribution of party propaganda, and his prefectsacted as arbiters in the county-level electoral battles.[70]

The national score was still unusually low for a Romanianparty in government, and Averescu still found it very hardto stabilize his popularity.[71]

Like hisPNL competitors and theking himself, Averescuwas preoccupied with the menace of Bolshevism, andsuspicious of the Socialist Party’s radicalization. Hisanticommunism was voiced in Parliament by PP memberD. R. Ioanițescu, who spoke for the entire parliamentaryright.[72] In contrast, another PP deputy, the Bessarabianjournalist and former anarchist Zamfir Arbore, was notedfor his sympathy toward Red Russia.[73]

The situation became explosive in October 1920, whenthe socialists attempted a general strike, and the PP or-ganized the clampdown.[74] The government prolongedand generalizedmilitary censorship, and legislated thatallconflicts between employers and workers to pass throughlabor courts (the “Trancu-Iași Law”).[75] The next year, apart of Bessarabia, perceived as especially vulnerable toBolshevik penetration, was placed under martial law.[76]

Averescu’s handling of the situation, fully supportedby the PNL,[77] had its share of brutality. Accordingto PS militants, his was a “class government”, “terri-fied” by trade union growth,[78] or even a "White Ter-

ror" regime.

[79]

The PP, and especially Cuza’s extrem-ists, enjoyed support from a number of small paramili-tary groups, including the Moldavian Guard of NationalAwareness. Headed by Constantin Pancu, it intimidatedthe PS sections and began organizing nationalist tradeunions.[80]

The government expelled or relocated population groupsperceived as disloyal,[81] ordering a mass arrest of thePS splinter group, an embryonic Communist Party.[82]

Averescu’s subordinates also staged the unusually harshtrial of communist Mihail Gheorghiu Bujor, and stoodaccused of murdering PS militant Herșcu Aroneanu.[83]

Their actions were hotly debated by the mainstream op-position, not least of all because they risked destroying allchances of peace between Romania and Russia.[84]

In tandem, the Averescans extended a hand to the PSmoderates, who were less likely to be influenced by theBolshevik ideology.[85] As Veiga writes, Averescu’s Ro-mania was uniquely positioned in respect to leftist upris-ings: the Romanian left as a whole was “very weak”, andthe country “traversed the great revolutionary wave with-

out any sort of practical consequences.”[86] For their part,many opposition deputies believed that Romanian com-munists needed to be scolded, not stamped out.[87] Therewas just one notable act of retribution: on December9, 1920, Max Goldstein exploded a bomb inside Parlia-ment, killing the Conservative Party’s Dimitrie Greceanu,and injuring several others (including Argetoianu).[88]

The PS later denounced Goldstein as a profiteer and arenegade.[89]

1.6 Toppling

From the right, the PP was attacked by the PNL, whowithdrew from Parliament in February 1921, prompt-ing Averescu to renounce promises of moderation. Inhis public addresses, the general invoked his “responsi-bilities” of reforming the country.[38] Bidding for left-wing votes, the government drafted the much awaitedland reform at its own convenience. Its law on land re-distribution, not essentially different from the Peasan-tist project of 1920,[23][90][91] was conceived by a defect-ing PND parliamentarian, Vasile Kogălniceanu, who hadbeen Averescu’s adversary during the 1907 Revolt.[92]

The PP was also pushing for an administrative reformthat would increase the citizens’ say in local government.It sought to legislate a measure of women’s suffrage, butthis proposal was soundly defeated in Parliament.[93]

The Averescan ministers were unable to tackle the severeeconomic recession, and Averescu even offered to re-nounce his premiership in favor of Take Ionescu. [94]

Ionescu refused, and the cabinet was locked in place un-til late 1921. Revisiting his stance, Averescu informedhis supporters that he could only accept a PNL succes-sion. The arrival to power of any other party would havethreatened the PP’s main project, of monopolizing the

anti-PNL vote.[90]

In July 1921, the “Reșița Affair”, sparked when Arge-toianu told his parliamentary critics to “kiss my ass”,[95]

offered an unexpected chance of affirmation to the PNLopposition.[23] Atthat junction, Ionescuwithdrew his sup-port and became friendly toward the PNL, leading tothe government’s resignation.[90][94] Between December1921 and January 1922, Ionescu was Prime Minister ofa minority cabinet. It also fell when the PP managed topass its motion of no confidence, but was swiftly replacedby a PNL administration. Brătianu became Premier andVăitoianu headed Internal Affairs.[96]

The PNL made a victorious comeback in the March 1922election. Its campaign focused on instigating hostility to-ward Averescu, but Brătianu’s prefects also lifted censor-

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ship and allowed all parties to campaign freely.[97] ThePP, neutral toward all other anti-PNL forces, attemptedto form an alliance with the Marghiloman Conservatives,while Ionescu’s faction went to the PND.[98] The Averes-cans dropped to 7.6% of the vote in the Assembly and6.5% overall, although theirs was still the most important

single opposition force.[99] The PP’s downfall was glaringin Bessarabia, where it failed to win any parliamentaryseats.[100] In Bukovina, the Averescan party was joinedby one segment of the Jewish community, under MayerEbner, but was still defeated at the ballot box.[101]

1.7 “Orderly opposition”

By 1922, as a result of the Versailles and Trianon treaties,the borders of “Greater Romania” had been secured, andthe country, with its growing economy, officially went

from 7.5 to 16.5 million inhabitants, which also seemedto compensate for her demographic losses.[102] The PNLleadership saw the electoral success as a confirmation ofits pivotal role in Romanian society, and, despite protestsfrom the right and the left, resumed its paternalistic ap-proach to politics.[103]

In this uneasy climate, the PNL finally passed the 1923Constitution, thereafter criticized as the beginning of aPNL-ist guided democracy. As Florescu notes, “Brătianuwas not inclined to renounce, even for a short while, hisconductor’s baton. [...] Because of this, the moderniza-tion of Romanian political life was subordinated to Ion

I.C. Brătianu and the liberals, which proved to be a de-cisive obstacle in the natural evolution of political life, inits adjustment to the new epoch.”[3] When the PNR-ledopposition suggested a political boycott, Averescu sidedwith the PNL, announcing that his men were the “orderlyopposition”.[90]

In addition to the Constitution, the PNL finally agreed toemancipate Romania’s Jewish minority. In March 1923,Cuza parted with the PP and set up his own National-Christian Defense League (LANC). This far-right group,later joined by PP right-wingers Ion Zelea Codreanu,Șumuleanu and Brăileanu,[104] was dedicated to anti-

semitic violence, popularizing the Protocols of the Eldersof Zion canard, and welcoming into its ranks the fascistyouth.[105] Cuza still held Averescu’s ideas of moral orderas a source of inspiration, and the LANC tried to drawtraditional PP voters into antisemitism.[106]

In their various statements, Averescu and Goga werestill friendly toward Cuza, playing down LANC violence,and giving exposure to fascist propaganda.[107] How-ever, at the other end, Argetoianu and many of the for-mer Conservative-Democrats left the PP and sided withthe PNR, a magnet of new conservatism.[108] Other fig-ures of prewar conservatism made the opposite move:

philosopher Constantin Rădulescu-Motru, diplomat IonMitilineu, educationist Constantin Meissner, journalistAndrei Corteanu, social activist Dem. I. Dobrescu,[90]

and civil administrator Ion Georgescu Obrocea[109] allsigned up with the PP around 1922. The Averescans stillnegotiated with the PNR and other Transylvanian parties,but only managed to form an alliance with the minorityMagyar Party, personally negotiated by Goga.[90]

The street battles, but moreover the Transylvanian andBukovinan objections to its centralizing policies, againleft the PNL in an uncomfortable situation.[110] On June3, 1924, the Averescans staged a “triumph of democ-racy” march in Bucharest, threatening with a coup, anddemanding that Averescu be granted the premiership.[90]

In the subsequent mayoral elections, Brătianu’s adminis-tration effectively censored PP propaganda.[111]

1.8 1926 return to power

A Peasantist cartoon of 1926, portraying Averescu and Ion I. C.Brătianu as vermin. The peasant voter is encouraged to stampthem out at the ballot box

The PP and the PNR agreed to form a “united

front” against government, but Averescu made it clearthat he had not lost his appetite for negotiating withBrătianu.[112] The National Liberal tacticians eventu-ally pushed Averescu to the forefront, allowing himto take over as Prime Minister (March 1926), but infact maneuvering in his shadow.[112][113] The Averescanswere welcomed into the National Liberal high finance,with Averescu himself being appointed on the board ofCreditul Minier society.[114]

The PP government ordered for the new elections to becarried out under a single electoral law, equally valid inthe Old Kingdom and the “new regions”. More con-

troversially, the cooperation between the PNL and thePP legalized the “government dowry” in an amendmentto proportional representation, ensuring the majority of

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1.9 Downfall and intrigues 7

parliamentary seats to any party that could absorb atleast 40% of the popular vote, and obliging all regis-tered parties to open regional sections anywhere in thecountry.[115] The subsequent electoral campaign becamea showdown: the PP, PNL and Peasantists each absorbeda number of smaller parties, centralizing the national

vote.[116] The PP also formalized its cartel with the Mag-yar Party.[117]

The 1926 suffrage was an absolute peak for the PP,which received 52% of the total vote.[118] In RâmnicuSărat County, the Averescan candidate managed an out-standing 96.6%.[119] However, the PP’s electioneeringwas noted for its numerous and unsanctioned abuses, in-cluding the use of state funds for People’s Party pro-paganda and the intimidation of opposition candidates(particularity those running for the PȚ and the Bessara-bian Peasantists).[120] As the caretaker of Internal Affairs,Goga was a prime suspect.[46]

Under such circumstances, the PP benefited from a freshinflux of cadres, many of whom were literati. Amongthose elected into Parliament as PP men was formerPrahova Conservative, the award-winning writer I. A.Bassarabescu.[121] Novelist Mihail Sadoveanu was electedin Bihor County, Transylvania,[122] but, together withpoet George Topîrceanu, represented a new generationof Moldavian PP cadres.[112] Also active in PP politics,poet Mateiu Caragiale tried but failed to receive a partynomination.[123]

The Bukovinan caucus co-opted Antin Lukasevych and

Iurii Lysan of the Ukrainian Social Democrats, who alsowon parliamentary seats,[124] while the partnership withindividual Jewish and German politicians was again re-vived. Ebner, Streitman, Kohlruss and Karl Klüger inBukovina, and Yehuda Leib Tsirelson in Bessarabia, wereelected on the Averescan ticket.[125]

Ballot rigging only strengthenedtheopposition in the longrun. Viewing the PP and the PNL as one political ma-chine, the other parties again coalesced into a single bloc.In October 1926, the PNR and PȚ created the most sta-ble avatar of “new” politics, the National Peasants’ Party(PNȚ). It grouped together "Green International" agrari-

ans and classical liberals, social conservatives and social-ists, driven into a revolutionary mood.[126] After a while,the Peasantist sections were pushed into moderate posi-tions, which allowed the PNȚ to absorb Iorga’s old PND(known then as “People’s Nationalist Party”).[23]

Still, the PNȚ lost some of its more conservative Transyl-vanian leaders, who became PP leaders: Vasile Goldiș,Ion Lapedatu, Ioan Lupaș, Ion Agârbiceanu.[23][112] Join-ing them were old PCD cadres who had parted with thegeneral in 1918, including rival G. Filipescu.[112] At theother end, the PP remained suspicious of left-wingers.Returning to its anticommunist agenda, it staged a repres-

sion against Lupta and other leftist newspapers.

[127]

With new backing, Averescu attempted to break out ofthe unequal partnership with the PNL, implying that it

was an “unhealthy” solution.[112] Mihail Manoilescu, hisMinister of the Economy, adopted radical fiscal poli-cies for the redistribution of wealth,[128] and underminedthe PNL’s big finance with calls for cooperative bank-ing.[129] At a time, a movement directed by the PP’sown Teodor Neaga sought to bring back the old Bessara-

bian zemstvos; Averescu welcomed it withspeeches aboutdecentralization, describing zemstvos as a compromisebetween centralism and regional autonomy.[130] More-over, the PP strayed from the traditional course of Roma-nia’s European policies, by obtaining a recognition of theBessarabian union from the (nominally hostile) Kingdomof Italy, and turning Romania away from her Little En-tente alliance.[112][131]

1.9 Downfall and intrigues

Averescu and Carol II , the rival policymakers, attending a paradein August 1930. Snapshot by Iosif Berman

Eventually, in June 1927, the king ordered Averescu tostep down. According to some reports, the deposedPrime Minister was outraged enough to threaten with acoup, but was quickly neutralized by the PNL.[132] PPoptimism was motivated by its victories in two partialelections,[133] but the National Liberals focused their en-ergies on sabotaging the Averescan candidates.[134] In-ternecine disputesalsoundermined the PP: Lapedatu ver-sus Manoilescu and Constantin Garoflid; Negulescu ver-

sus Petrovici.[112]

Just as the PP was announcing a new political offensive,the entire Bukovina chapter defected.[133] The party was

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in disarray, losing most of its support base in the OldKingdom—except for Dobruja, where, in the 1927 suf-frage, it received 5.75% regionally, compared to 1.93%nationally.[135] In Bessarabia, it relied on 3.3% of thevote[136] and lostNeaga’s backing.[53] In Transylvania, theMagyar Party unsealed its pact with Averescu, prompting

the latter to turn more nationalistic.[112] From ca. 1930,the Averescan program included demands for racial quo-tas, so as to undermine the Hungarians’ political and cul-tural representation.[137]

The PP’s decline was less evident in the 1928 election,carried out under a triumphant National Peasantist cabi-net, which did not touch the electoral legislation.[138] ThePP formed a cartel with its former rivals, the PND. Theymanaged 2.48% nationally.[139]

The successive deaths of Brătianu and King Ferdinandannounced a major political reshuffling. PP theoretician

Manoilescu sensed this, and left the party to make hisdebut as a corporatist doctrinaire.[140] A conspiracy, fa-cilitated by the PNȚ government and by former PP men(Argetoianu, Manoilescu), granted the throne to Ferdi-nand’s disgraced son, Prince Carol, who would reign asCarol II.[141] Averescu spoke out against the PNȚ tac-tics, staging a (futile) parliamentary walkout in 1929, [133]

but his party voted overwhelmingly in favor of Carol’sreinstatement.[142] By then, most of the PP elite cadres,from Garoflid to Petrovici and Filipescu, were followingManoilescu’s example and resigning from the party.[133]

From 1930, again citing the fear of social revolution,

Averescu also began courting King Carol. As a reward,he was made Marshal of Romania and considered forCarol’s own ministerial “reserve team”.[133] That promisefailed to materialize: the king was more impressed byIorga’s loyalty, and, to Averescu’s chagrin, set up a PNDcabinet.[143] In the 1931 election, the Averescan candi-dates received a minor boost, reemerging with 4.82%of the Assembly vote.[144] However, the PP had lost allfooting in Romania’s “new regions”, where it had alwaysbeen a minor presence. In Transylvanian counties, it re-ceived more than 10% of the vote only in Năsăud andFăgăraș.[37]

1.10 PNA split and “Georgist” alliance

The fascist and corporatist models became even morefashionable as the Great Depression set in. Half of thePP broke off in 1932, setting up the National AgrarianParty (PNA), with Octavian Goga as its president. Thissplit was allegedly prompted by the king: Goga fully sup-ported his dictatorial projects, while Averescu was stillambivalent.[133] The PNA became more like the LANC,quoting fascist principles, and favoring strong antisemiticmeasures.[46][145] Goga made history in 1933, when he

openly demanded the creation of special concentrationcamps for sorting out Romanian Jews.[46]

Fascism was more successfully represented by the for-

mer LANC paramilitary wing, the Iron Guard, whichAverescu denounced as an “anarchic” movement.[143] TheGuard made steady electoral gains throughout the moredisputed electoral circumscriptions, appealing to the so-cial groups most affected by the economic crisis. [146]

As Veiga notes, the Guard was also able to col-

lect the PP’s upper-class voters, including Cantacuzino-Grănicerul.[147]

The PNA defection was a debilitating coup against theAverescans, who lost not just Goga, but also Ghibu,Agârbiceanu, and several high-ranking cadres (SilviuDragomir, Stan Ghițescu, Constantin Iancovescu).[143]

Out of 76 PP chapters, 24 opted to join Goga. [143] Inthe July 1932 election, the PP only appealed to some2.16% of the Romanian electorate; this was less thanwhat Goga had received—together, the two parties ac-counted almost exactly for the PP’s electoral base in the1931 suffrage.[148] The PP was again able to benefit from

the customary allocation of seats (called “downright ab-surd” by analyst Marcel Ivan): in Transylvania, where itobtained less than 2%, Averescu’s men still received twoAssembly seats, whereas the PNL, with 8% of the re-gional vote, only managed one seat.[149]

PP men witnessed the PNȚ's return to power on an anti-Carlist platform, and, although numerically irrelevant,announced that they were preparing their own comeback.Despite arousing public indignation, the PP began ne-gotiating with both Carol and the Iron Guard, proba-bly hoping to play one against the other.[143] Averescu’soptimism was stoked by the government crisis of 1932,

when Carol’s dictatorial project clashed badly with thePNȚ's commitment to democratic action.[143] The Mar-shal’s stated objective was to tear down “the barrier thatexists between the People’s Party and the Sovereign”.[150]

The elections of 1933 were called by a new PNL cabi-net, headed by Ion G. Duca. The PP mobilized itself,forming a tiny cartel with Filipescu’s Conservative re-vivalists and the right-wing “Georgist” Liberals.[150] Itwas also joined by Nicolae Rădescu, an anti-Carlist of-ficer. He was involved with an Averescan veterans’ as-sociation, Cultul Patriei (“Cult of the Motherland”).[151]

The Averescans were again interested in the German

votes, and attempted to setup a satellite GermanFarmers’Union in Transylvania.[152] The PP’s Constitutional-and-Conservative list registered a dismal result, of less than2% nationally.[153]

Seeing the Iron Guard and other growing parties as di-rect threats to the political system, Premier Duca reestab-lished censorship and repressive mechanisms, even be-fore the actual voting.[154] The Guard assassinated himthat December. Although its leadership was promptlyjailed, the Guard found itself courted by King Carol,who had come to resent PNL politics. In that context,the ambitious monarch planned to create a puppet gov-

ernment, headed by Averescu, managed by Argetoianu,and supported by the Iron Guard.[150][155] His attempt

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failed, returning the PP into obscurity. Instead, Carol wasable to form an obedient cabinet from the PNL youth ofGheorghe Tătărescu, with Manoilescu as adviser.[156]

1.11 Demise

Octavian Goga's Țara Noastră newspaper, displaying theNational Christian Party's swastika logo (1935)

In July 1935, the PP’s fascist breakaway groups, PNAand LANC, merged to form the National Christian Party(PNC), a direct competitor of the Iron Guard.[157] As

far as traditional Averescans were concerned, the newparty was nothing more than “agitatorial”.[150] The PPand the “Georgists”, meanwhile, were closer than ever.In September 1935, they formed a Constitutional Front,soon joined by the para-fascist Crusade of Romanian-ism and by Carol’s outstandingly vocal critic, GrigoreForțu, who led a marginal “Citizens’ Bloc of NationalSalvation”.[150][158]

The election of 1937 created two conjectural camps: theNational Peasantists sealed a non-aggression pact withthe Iron Guard, aiming to restrict Carol’s interventionin party politics; Gheorghe Tătărescu’s National Liber-

als managed to obtain conditional support from both thePP and the PNC, forming a loose alliance of Carlist in-terest groups.[150][159] Averescu was isolated on the polit-ical scene. The “Georgists” dissolved the ConstitutionalFront and crossed the floor, sealing pacts with the Guardand the PNȚ. In response, the PP made vague efforts toform another cartel, with either the PNL or the PNC.[150]

Even with the application of 1926 laws, the election resultwas a deadlock. Since no party totaled 40%, it becameimpossible to form government.[160] For Carol II, thiswas an opportunity. Using his prerogative, the monarchhanded power to the PNC minority (9.15% of the votes),

which had promised to enact his dictatorial and corpo-ratist program.[46][161] Goga initiated discussions with theAverescans, trying to talk them into a fusion, but the twosides could not agree on how to share mandates betweenthem.[162]

The PNC’s partnership with the king broke down whenGoga also began negotiating with the Guard,[46][163] lead-ing Carol to test a new political solution. In February1938, the PNC administration was deposed. All the par-ties were officially banned and replaced with the NationalRenaissance Front, with high offices reserved for old-regime politicians, Averescu included.[150][162][164] In

early March 1938, the Marshal officially resigned fromthe PP, and the party presidency was assigned by de-fault to Negulescu.[150] The PP’s dissolution was per-

haps voluntary, and in any case welcomed by several ofAverescu’s former colleagues.[121][150][165] Others, how-ever, were taken by surprise: as a distraught Trancu-Iașinoted, the PP simply “fizzled out”, without any officialacceptance from its elected corps.[166]

Afterhe agreed to this final compromise with King Carol,Averescu largely withdrew from public life. He main-tained only some informal contacts with former PP dig-nitaries, such as Argetoianu, Meissner, Trancu-Iași andPetre Papacostea.[162][166] He bemoaned the passing ofRomania’s repressive constitution, and refused to coun-tersign it, but he also rejected offers to join up with apublic show of protest by the PNȚ and PNL.[162] Justas some advanced proposals to restore Averescu to thepremiership, the ailing Marshal went on an extended tripabroad. He died of heart disease shortly after returningto Romania, and was granted a state funeral.[166]

2 Ideological synthesis

2.1 Class collaboration vs. meritocracy

Averescu’s politics were part of a European-wide reori-entation, a pragmatic conservative answer to the postwarleftist riots, but also a manifestation of the soldiers’ par-ticular resentment toward classical liberal democracy. Asa military opponent of the civilian elite, looking for away out of the two-party system, Averescu was com-

pared (by both contemporaries and historians) to GeneralBoulanger[12] and Mustafa Kemal.[162] Veiga also sug-gests that Averescu was a local "Primo de Rivera", andthat his demobilized supporters were Romania’s "khakirioters".[167]

According to Gheorghe I. Florescu, the generalwasforce-fully propelled into politics by his soldiers’ ambitions:“With the glowing aura of an ever-increasing, tide-like,popularity, General Averescu found himself riding thewave of innovation, but also of danger, given that therewas no cleardirection to itsmenacing advance, to itsmys-terious and incomprehensible character.”[3] Also accord-

ing to Florescu: “In 1920–1921, Romanian political lifetraversed a very complex interval [...] evolving from ob-solete conservative tendencies to an increased radicalism,aiming to keep in tune with the new age. The People’sParty itself, having first presented itself as the purveyorof democratic principles, fell back on conservatism dur-ing its two-year interval in government.”[90] In his ownwords, the general was “a prudent liberal” ushering in the"rule of law".[168]

The PP’s anti-systemic bias was universally perceivedas incoherent, demagogic, even self-contradictory, atextbook example of “non-ideological” populism.[169] In

1918, Argetoianu explained that the League was indeeda political party, but a pluralistic one, playing host to sev-eral “strong currents of the masses.”[12] Witnessing the

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10 2 IDEOLOGICAL SYNTHESIS

Averescan phenomenon from the side, Nicolae Iorga ar-gued that the PP was even flimsier than that: “the [PP’s]program was Averescu, the guarantee that it would be ef-fected was Averescu, the party prestige was Averescu, thefight for an ideal was Averescu. Everything led back toAverescu.”[85] The establishment regarded Averescu as

entirely unfit for his political duties, a “fascinating” but“permanently indecisive” character.[3] Others simply be-lieved that Averescu was incompetent. The PNȚ's IoanHudiță claimed to see right through Averescu’s charisma,to his “spineless” and “servile” core.[166] Drăghicescu alsowrites that the Averescan myth appealed to “the turn-coats, disguised as they may be into new men, virginalmen.”[170]

From inception, the People’s League courted both theself-reliant middle class and the disenfranchised, cred-iting itself as a class collaboration party.[24][171] Its pro-paganda declared it “a protector of The Artisans, of The

Villagers, andof all themaligned people”,[172] fueled “notby bonds of interest, but by the overwhelming love of thepeasants and the soldiers.”[173] Some party members triedto connect this inter-class positioning with a more con-crete political terminology. Before his defection to cor-poratism, Manoilescu depicted the PP, with its tax reformpolicies and labor courts, as a prime example of “neolib-eral doctrine” (that is to say, social liberalism).[174] Fora short while, the PP counted among its intellectual elitethe other voice of youthful liberalism: Manoilescu’s rival,Ștefan Zeletin.[90][175]

In Manoilescu’s definition, the Averescu program did

not rely “on any single social class, but on all of them”,mixing “quite sentimental liberalism” into “quite timidsocialism.”[176] Meanwhile, through Goga’s inner fac-tion, the PP was tied to various political social exper-iments promoted by the intelligentsia. Vasile Goldișand Ioan Lupaș, for instance, directed government fundsinto eugenic research (1927).[177] Goga’s own rapid as-cent embodied the political aspirations of his fellow writ-ers, who believed in an intellectual meritocracy: MihailSadoveanu motivated his decision to join the PP as aneed to strengthen the intellectuals’ direct presence inpolitics;[122] from the outside, Camil Petrescu pressured

Goga (unsuccessfully so) to legislate the “dictatorship ofintellectual labor”.[178]

2.2 Para-fascism vs. anti-fascism

Despite its pragmatic trans-ethnic alliances and its multi-culturalism, the PP maintained political links with the farright, most notably through Cuza’s followers. As a minorpartner during the 1920 strike, the National AwarenessGuard, which had among its junior members the futureIron Guard organizer Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, seemsto have been inspired by both the Austrian Christian So-

cial Party and the German Nazi Party.[179] The NationalAwareness Guard was called a “fascist organization” byhistorian Lucian Butaru, and was fondly remembered

by Codreanu for its antisemitic doctrines.[180] Other ex-tremist clubs on the right were courted by the PP overthe remainder of its existence: as historian of fascismStanley G. Payne notes, the post-1920 PP was “an ever-diminishing, increasingly right-wing organization.”[181]

The national syndicalist doctrinaire Nae Ionescu saw the

Averescan League as a “federalist” group resembling the“syndicalist ethos”, but noted with regret that it hadevolved into a more rigid and “abstracting” structure.[182]

From the left, the PP was perceived as duplicitous whenit came to fascist rioting. An angry Jewish commenta-tor, Isac Ludo, accused his coreligionists of naivete, sincetheir endorsement of the PP did not prevent Averescufrom tolerating antisemitic hooliganism, nor Goga fromstoking it.[183]

The PP was also noted for its privileged relationshipwith Italian fascism, its own hopes of success rekin-dled by the March on Rome.[90][184] Although inspired

by and advantageous to the PNL, the 1926 electoral leg-islation was supposedly modeled on the Italian "AcerboLaw".[185] Moreover, in a 1930s project, Averescu, Iorga,Manoilescu and Goga were all considered as overseers ofthe ActionCommittees for the Universality of Rome, thatistosaytheItalianbureauofthe Fascist International.[186]

The fascist connections were explicitly contradicted bythe public attitudes of some PP leaders. HistorianH. James Burgwyn writes that Averescu may have in-deed been perceived as “a Fascist sympathizer”, but ac-tually “had no interest in the Duce as an ideologicalmentor”.[187] While fascism was taking its first steps in

Romania, this “most serious candidate for the role ofdictator”[188] was earning high praise for preserving “themiddle line”.[112] After the Goga defection, Averescu is-sued several disclaimers against suspicions that the PPwas secretly fascist.[143] Later on, Averescu alsodistancedhimself from Carol II’s authoritarian projects, but (as Bu-taru writes) this mainly showed that he was not one of theking’s favorites.[189]

Some other PP members were ever more vocal in re-jecting fascism. People’s League ideologist P. P. Neg-ulescu, who deplored Averescu’s attack on socialism,[190]

endures in Romanian political history as a supporter

of moderation. He wrote an outspoken critique ofracist discourse, denouncing Romanian fascism as atool for German spies,[191] and actively supported ethnicpluralism.[192] The PP’s conservative core repeatedly cen-sured Averescu’s tactical alliances with fascist politicians,including in 1935, when the PP was allied by proxy withthe Crusade of Romanianism.[150]

Many revolutionaries on the right were exasperated,their press calling Averescu a leader of an “old men’sinsurrection”.[193] After converting to authoritarianism,Manoilescu expressed his frustration that Negulescu andother “intellectual politicians” had prevented Averescu

from fulfilling his historical mission.[162] Manoilescu alsocontended that, owing to such affiliations, the PP could

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11

never appeal to the mainstay voters of either fascism orcommunism: the educated youth.[188] This verdict is con-sistent with statistical data. In 1938, the PP had 14 uni-versity professors as registered members, including Neg-ulescu, Ilie Bărbulescu and N. I. Herescu; the Iron Guardmeanwhile only had 8.[194]

3 Symbols and institutions

The Averescan party made informal use of the color yel-low, which was notably used in floral arrangements at of-ficial functions.[166] Unlike the other parties, which fre-quently changed symbols, the PP was committed to usingthe “six-pointed star, filled”, as itselectoral logo.[195] Firstappearing in 1918 as the League’s badge, the star wassaid to represent Averescu’s political newness and for the

hopes invested in him.[196] References to the party sym-bol featured prominently in propaganda rhymes. Thesecalled the PNL elite “rats”, and the star itself “the rats’scourge”.[197] In 1926, however, the PP switched to a“broken” trigram (☷), used for identification in the elec-tion bulletins.[198]

The party slogan was Muncă, cinste, legalitate (“La-bor, honesty, legality”), which in itself alluded tothe meeting of workers’ rights, social liberalism, and“evolved” conservatism.[24] The phrase became known(and ridiculed) as “the general’s primer”, and as atimid alternative to the PNL’s Prin noi înșine (“By

ourselves”).[199] As much as it diversified it support base,the PP always used personalized politics as an asset. Ac-cording to historian Svetlana Suveică, its electoral man-ifestos for 1926 “focused entirely on Averescu’s merits,their content hardly ever mentioned the name of the partyheaded by the general.”[200]

The PP’s central tribune was Îndreptarea, whose edi-tors included Constantin Gongopol and (in 1923) ȘtefanTătărescu.[201] The PP also controlled many regionalnewspapers. In early 1919, it won official support fromtwo provincial weeklies: Adevăr și Dreptate, put outin Galați by Sebastian S. Eustatziu, and George Lun-

gulescu's Alarma Mehedințiului , of Turnu Severin.[202]In the Bessarabian center of Chișinău, the PP was rep-resented by Vasile Cijevschi's Nashe Slovo and, later,by Dumitru Iov's Cuvântul Nou.[203] At Timișoara, thePP press was mainly represented by Petru Nemoianu'sGazeta Banatului .[204]

Many other such tribunes existed, during the PP’s hey-day, in: Baia Mare (Renașterea), Bârlad (ApărareaNațională, Steagul Biruinței , Tribuna Tutovei ), Bazargic(Deliormanul , Dobrogea Nouă, Înfrățirea, Ecoul Cali-acrei , Steaua Caliacrei ), Brăila (Îndreptarea Brăilei ),Bucharest (Banatul , Cinstea, Muncitorul , Olteanul , Reali-

tatea), Buzău (Drapelul , Steaua Poporului ), Cahul (Cahu-lul ), Cernăuți (Dreptatea, Țărănimea), Cluj (România),Constanța (Refacerea, Steaua), Craiova (Cuvântul Olte-

niei , Doljul , Ordinea), Dorohoi (Biruința, Steaua Poporu-lui ), Iași (Liga Poporului ), Râmnicu Vâlcea (Glasul Poporului , Steaua), Roman (Opinca Română), Slatina(Gazeta Oltului , Liga Oltului ), Soroca (Basarabia de Sus),Târgu Jiu (Gazeta Poporului din Gorj ) etc.[205]

During their alliance with Iorga’s party, the Averescansinherited former PND-ist gazettes, starting with Iorga’sown Neamul Românesc and Traian Brăileanu's Poporul ofCernăuți.[206] Others were Coasa of Constanța, BrazdaNouă of Bârlad, Cuvântul Naționalist of Bacău, Îndem-nul of Pitești, Răvașul Nostru of Suceava, Vremea Nouăand Vremea Ordinei of Craiova, Biruința of Turnu Sev-erin etc.[207]

By the early 1930s, the PP’s official press included În-dreptarea, Cuvântul Olteniei , and the newer Constituțiaof Râmnicu Sărat.[208] Îndreptarea survived the PP’s of-ficial disestablishment, and was in print until summer

1938.[166]

4 Legacy

The PP’s agony and disestablishment preceded the endof Greater Romania and the shock of World War II(see Romania in World War II ). In 1940, after cedingBessarabia to the Soviets and Northern Transylvania tothe Hungarian Regency, Carol II was pushed into ex-ile, and the Iron Guard took over. This bloody inter-regnum, known as National Legionary State, was ended

from within by Ion Antonescu, theappointed Conducător .Antonescu’s Romania was also aligned with interna-tional fascism, and joined Nazi Germany in carrying outOperation Barbarossa.

In late August 1944, with the turn of tides, the KingMichael Coup finally deposed Antonescu and broke offRomania’s alliance with the Axis Powers. It was the un-witting start of communization. Once a minor group per-secuted by PP governments, the Romanian CommunistParty swelled up in numbers and, with Soviet assistance,advanced steadily toward imposing a Romanian People’sRepublic. The process required support from some key

members of the old political class, most notoriously sofrom two former PP dignitaries, Petru Groza and MihailSadoveanu, who held some of the top positions in thenew state.[4][209] In this context, Groza took over as PrimeMinister of a communist-dominated cabinet, after oust-ing the former PP man Nicolae Rădescu; Rădescu fledthe country to escape imprisonment.[210]

Other PP cadres, particularly those who had fraternizedwith fascism, were also prosecuted. The more notori-ous such cases are those of Argetoianu,[211] Manoilescu,Petrovici, Lapedatuand Brăileanu.[212] Agârbiceanu’s po-sition was more unusual. He and his literary work were

well regarded by the communists, but still he wouldnot relinquish his priesthood in the outlawed Latin RiteChurch.[213]

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12 5 CADRES (ALPHABETICAL LIST)

Meanwhile, communist propaganda made deliberate ef-forts to minimize the PP’s role in political history. It cau-tioned that the Averescans were “the bourgeoisie and thelandowners”, not the people, and noted that they spear-headed "reactionary" persecutions.[4] This verdict wasnuanced by Groza’s memoirs, published in thesame inter-

val. According to Groza’s ambiguous account, Averescuwas “honest”and “talented”, but“impotent” when it cameto challenging the royalty.[4] Groza’s book is a question-able source of information, noted for the unsubstantiatedallegations against various former PP colleagues.[192]

5 Cadres (alphabetical list)

• Ion Agârbiceanu

• Elena Alistar

• Zamfir Arbore

• Constantin Argetoianu

• Constantin C. Arion

• Alexandru Averescu

• Ilie Bărbulescu

• I. A. Bassarabescu

• Vladimir Bodescu

• Traian Brăileanu• Gheorghe Cantacuzino-Grănicerul

• Matei Cantacuzino

• Mateiu Caragiale

• Vladimir Chiorescu

• Vasile Cijevschi

• Constantin Coandă

• Ion Zelea Codreanu

• Andrei Corteanu

• Grigore C. Crăiniceanu

• Vladimir Cristi

• A. C. Cuza

• Dimo Dimitriev

• Dem. I. Dobrescu

• Silviu Dragomir

• Mayer Ebner

• Sebastian S. Eustatziu

• Grigore Filipescu

• Iancu Flondor

• Constantin Garoflid

• Ion Georgescu Obrocea

• Stan Ghițescu

• Octavian Goga

• Vasile Goldiș

• Constantin Gongopol

• Petru Groza

• N. I. Herescu

• Constantin Iancovescu

• Avram Imbroane• D. R. Ioanițescu

• Take Ionescu

• Dumitru Iov

• Karl Klüger

• Vasile Kogălniceanu

• Alfred Kohlruss

• Ion Lapedatu

• Vasile Lucaci

• Antin Lukasevych

• George Lungulescu

• Ioan Lupaș

• Iurii Lysan

• Mihail Manoilescu

• Constantin Meissner

•

Teodor Mihali• Ion Mitilineu

• Anton Mocsonyi de Foeni

• Teodor Neaga

• P. P. Negulescu

• Petru Nemoianu

• Sergiu Niță

• Enric Otetelișanu

• Petre Papacostea

• Dorimedont Popovici

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorimedont_Popovicihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petre_Papacosteahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enric_Oteteli%C8%99anuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergiu_Ni%C8%9B%C4%83https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petru_Nemoianuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._P._Negulescuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teodor_Neagahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Mocsonyi_de_Foenihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Mitilineuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teodor_Mihalihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantin_Meissnerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihail_Manoilescuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iurii_Lysanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ioan_Lupa%C8%99https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lungulescuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antin_Lukasevychhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasile_Lucacihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Lapedatuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Kohlrusshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasile_Kog%C4%83lniceanuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Kl%C3%BCgerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumitru_Iovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_Ionescuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._R._Ioani%C8%9Bescuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avram_Imbroanehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantin_Iancovescuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._I._Herescuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petru_Grozahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantin_Gongopolhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasile_Goldi%C8%99https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octavian_Gogahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Ghi%C8%9Bescuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Georgescu_Obroceahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantin_Garoflidhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iancu_Flondorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigore_Filipescuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_S._Eustatziuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayer_Ebnerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silviu_Dragomirhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dem._I._Dobrescuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimo_Dimitrievhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._C._Cuzahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Cristihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigore_C._Cr%C4%83iniceanuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Corteanuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Zelea_Codreanuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantin_Coand%C4%83https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasile_Cijevschihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Chiorescuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mateiu_Caragialehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matei_Cantacuzinohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gheorghe_Cantacuzino-Gr%C4%83nicerulhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traian_Br%C4%83ileanuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Bodescuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I._A._Bassarabescuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilie_B%C4%83rbulescu_(Slavist)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandru_Averescuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantin_C._Arionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantin_Argetoianuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamfir_Arborehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena_Alistarhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Ag%C3%A2rbiceanuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactionary


13/19

13

• Nicolae Rădescu

• Constantin Rădulescu-Motru

• Mihail Sadoveanu

• Henric Streitman

• Ioan Suciu

• Corneliu Șumuleanu

• Octavian Tăslăuanu

• Ștefan Tătărescu

• George Topîrceanu

• Grigore Trancu-Iași

• Yehuda Leib Tsirelson

• Ioan Ursu

• Gheorghe Văleanu

• Duiliu Zamfirescu

• Ștefan Zeletin

6 Notes

[1] Olga Greceanu, Bucarest et ses environs, Cartea Medicală,Bucharest, 1928, p.30

[2] Veiga, p.17-19, 20-29

[3] (Romanian) Gheorghe I. Florescu, “Alexandru Averescu,omul politic (I)", in Convorbiri Literare, May 2009

[4] Gheorghe I. Florescu, “Alexandru Averescu, omul politic(XII)", in Convorbiri Literare, May 2010

[5] Veiga, p.46

[6] Veiga, p.26, 31-32

[7] Boia (2010), passim; Veiga, p.31-34

[8] Veiga, p.19, 37[9] Veiga, p.20-23, 34

[10] Gheorghe & Șerbu, p.183-184; Veiga, p.19, 21

[11] Boia (2010), p.48-51; Gheorghe & Șerbu, p.164

[12] (Romanian) Gheorghe I. Florescu, “Alexandru Averescu,omul politic (II)", in Convorbiri Literare, June 2009

[13] Veiga, p.19, 33-34, 37

[14] Boia (2010), p.48-52, 127-130, 251, 259-260, 277, 284,311, 322-323, 331; Veiga, p.34

[15] Zamfirescu & Adam, p.25-26

[16] Drăghicescu, p.62-63

[17] Emanoil Bucuța, “Institutul Social Român”, in Boabe deGrâu, August–September 1931, p.369

[18] Simion, “Alegerile parlamentare din anul 1920...”, p.162

[19] Petrescu, p.312-313

[20] Veiga, p.55-56, 62, 69

[21] Bozdoghină (2003), p.70-72, 74

[22] Petrescu, p.313

[23] (Romanian) Ionuț Ciobanu, “Structura organizatorică aPartidului Țăranesc și a Partidului Național ", in SferaPoliticii , Nr. 129-130

[24] (Romanian) Lavinia Vlădilă, “Partidele politice în primiianiinterbelici(II)",inthe Valahia University of TârgovișteLaw Study, Nr. 1/2011

[25] Simion, “Alegerile parlamentare din anul 1919...”, p.142

[26] Bozdoghină (2003), p.72

[27] Simion, “Alegerile parlamentare din anul 1919...”, p.139-141; Veiga, p.35

[28] Simion, “Alegerile parlamentare din anul 1919...”, p.141-142. See also Drăghicescu, p.63, 64; Radu (2003), p.74

[29] Petrescu, p.313. See also Zamfirescu & Adam, p.129

[30] Simion, “Alegerile parlamentare din anul 1919...”, p.142;Veiga, p.29, 34-35

[31] Veiga, p.34

[32] (Romanian) Laura Guțanu, “Valori de patrimoniu. LuciaKogălniceanu”, in the University of Iași Central LibraryBiblos, Nr. 11-12 (2001), p.9

[33] Drăghicescu, p.62

[34] Simion, “Alegerile parlamentare din anul 1919...”, p.142,143, 144-145, 147-148, 149, 151

[35] Ivan, p.9

[36] Ivan, p.20

[37] Ivan, p.19[38] (Romanian) Gheorghe I. Florescu, “Alexandru Averescu,

omul politic (III)", in Convorbiri Literare, July 2009

[39] Zamfirescu & Adam, p.5-6, 26, 54

[40] Suveică, p.72

[41] Veiga, p.35-36

[42] Bozdoghină (2003), p.72-73

[43] Bozdoghină (2003), p.73; Veiga, p.27-28, 36,45. See alsoSuveică, p.82

[44] Ivan, p.46-47; Suveică, p.84-85

[45] Hrenciuc, p.161-162, 163, 166-167

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convorbiri_Literarehttp://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/FLORESCUiul9.htmlhttp://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/FLORESCUiul9.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Ia%C8%99ihttp://www.bcu-iasi.ro/biblos/biblos11/lucia.pdfhttp://www.bcu-iasi.ro/biblos/biblos11/lucia.pdfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valahia_University_of_T%C3%A2rgovi%C8%99tehttp://www.analefsj.ro/ro/reviste/numarul17/anale_nr_1_2011.phphttp://www.analefsj.ro/ro/reviste/numarul17/anale_nr_1_2011.phphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sfera_Politiciihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sfera_Politiciihttp://www.sferapoliticii.ro/sfera/129-130/art06-ciobanu.htmlhttp://www.sferapoliticii.ro/sfera/129-130/art06-ciobanu.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emanoil_Bucu%C8%9Bahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convorbiri_Literarehttp://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/FLORESCUiun9.htmlhttp://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/FLORESCUiun9.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convorbiri_Literarehttp://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/FLORESCUmai10.htmlhttp://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/FLORESCUmai10.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convorbiri_Literarehttp://convorbir

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