3 Press Reports ---------------- Romanian Youth Vote for Nationalist ========================= from Newsday http://www.newsday.com/ap/text/international/ap310.htmNovember 28th 2000 by ALISON MUTLERAssociated Press Writer BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) -- Corneliu Vadim Tudor, a nationalist who rails against Gypsies and Jews, finished a surprising second in Romania's presidential race, putting him in a runoff against a former communist ruler. Near-final results released Tuesday from the weekend election showed Romania slipping further from the European mainstream. The two candidates in the runoff set for Dec. 10 are unlikely choices to lead Romania into membership in the European Union and NATO. Ion Iliescu, a former leading communist official who served as president from 1990 to 1996, came in first of the 12 candidates with around 37 percent of the vote. He was followed by Tudor with 29 percent -- a staggering increase over his less than 5 percent showing in 1996. Voters in the presidential and parliamentary election largely abandoned the centrist ruling coalition, which has failed to curb widespread corruption. The turn toward Iliescu reflected voters' uncertainty over the country's program of market reforms. Iliescu has promised to continue reform, but also pushed a populist message promising more social welfare and a review of the sell-off of the state sector. He first came to office after the fall of Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, but his years in power were marked by stagnation and corruption. More surprising was the strong youth vote in favor of Tudor, a man who once said the country could only be run ''through the mouth of a machine gun.'' An exit poll by the IMAS institute of 23,000 people found that 33 percent of those under 35 who voted Sunday did so for Tudor. Much of Tudor's appeal reflects the general antipathy felt in Romania toward Gypsies, or Roma, believed to make up at least 1 million of the total population of almost 24 million. Tudor, 51, has promised to destroy the ''Gypsy Mafia'' as part of his general clampdown on lawlessness. ''He is charismatic,'' said Emanuela Nicolaide, 27, who owns three hotels. ''I liked his law and order message -- especially with Gypsies.'' Tudor cuts a flamboyant figure, dressed in Romanian-made white suits, lilac-tinted sunglasses and heavy gold jewelry, promoting his love of ''God and family,'' and blaming Jews, minority Hungarians and Gypsies for having led to Romania's decline over the years. He rides in a black Mercedes, but his gold Rolex is history -- or so he says. He donated it to a child under the glare of television lights last week, claiming he is the champion of the poor. His rich baritone voice can be heard in parliament denouncing ''traitors'' -- Romanians who do not think like him. Exploiting traditional Romanian suspicions of Hungary and Hungarians, he has promised to ''liquidate'' the ethnic Hungarian Party within 24 hours if he comes topower. Despite the bloodthirsty rhetoric, Ceausescu's former ''court poet'' claims to be a pacifist, declaring: ''I can't bring myself to kill a bug in the bathtub.''''He has a direct and incendiary message,'' said supporter Silviu Florescu,a 26-year-old philosophy graduate. A Tudor victory would likely spark a political crisis. Iliescu's Party of Social Democracy said Tuesday it would refuse to join a government with Tudor if Tudor wins the run-off. Instead, the party would try to put together a governing coalition with centrist parties, spokeswoman Corina Cretu said. ''We have to understand that we cannot let Vadim close the borders and start chasing Hungarians around the country,'' said Adrian Nastase, whom the party picked Tuesday to be prime minister if Iliescu wins. ''We need solutions to our economic and social problems, we don't need ethnic problems, violence and demagoguery.'' Lately, Tudor has backpedaled from an image he knows will get him into trouble abroad, should he become president, presiding over ''Christian suppers,'' for pensioners, and orphans. Jews, once his sworn enemies, have more lately become ''the people of the Bible.'' He is also backtracking on some of his other more extreme comments, among them the famed ''machine gun'' phrase, despite the fact that it is on record, captured on video tape. And he has toned down racist rhetoric against ethnic Hungarians and Gypsies. Still, not everyone believes him, even among the youthful electorate that generally seemed to have supported him. ''I am going to vote for Iliescu to stop him in the second round,'' said Genica Opris, a 26-year-old history graduate. ''I hope Romanians haven't lost their mind.'' ===== > ------------------------- > > Monday, 27 November, 2000, 15:39 GMT > Election polarises Romania > > Romanians are fed up with poverty in their country > > The first results from Romania's elections confirm predictions of > gains for the opposition Socialists and, most dramatically, for the > far-right Nationalists. > > The former ex-communist president, Ion Iliescu, will now face > right-winger Corneliu Vadim Tudor in a run-off for the presidency > in two weeks' time. > > First results > > PDSR > 36.5% - president > 37% - parliament > Greater Romania > 28.8% - president > 20% - parliament > Liberals > Approx 10% > The centre-right coalition, which has ruled for the past four years, > was beaten into third place in Sunday's parallel presidential and > parliamentary elections. > > Correspondents say the ruling coalition's bad showing is an > reflection of the poor economy and will be a blow to the country's > chances of joining the European Union. > > Based on official results from just under 60% of polling stations, > Mr Iliescu, a former president, leads in the presidential election > with 36.5% of the vote. > > Mr Tudor, an outspoken poet and publisher known for > anti-Semitic and anti-Hungarian remarks, took second place > with 28.8% of the votes so far counted. > > He attracted strong support from angry out-of-work voters. > > In the parliamentary vote the figures show the party of Social > Democracy (PDSR) with about 37%, and the Greater Romania > party with about 20%. > > A final official tally is due by Thursday. Even these incomplete > results show a dramatic increase in support for the right-wing. > > In the 1996 election, the Greater Romania party won 4.5% of the > vote. > > No coalition > > Mr Iliescu has immediately sought to reassure Romanians and > the West that there would be no coalition with the Greater > Romania party. > > His deputy, Adrian Nastase, tipped to be named next prime > minister, said flatly: "We exclude any alliance with the Greater > Romania party." > > Correspondents say the size of the vote for Mr Tudor, who has > been likened to Austrian far-right leader Joerg Haider and > France's Jean Marie Le Pen, is sure to send shock waves > through the European Union and cast doubts on Romania's > preparedness for joining the EU. > > These are the fourth general elections since the overthrow of > communism 11 years ago > > Economic hardship > > Inflation: 45% > Nearly half of Romanians live on less than $30 a month > Average monthly salary: about $90 > Unemployment: 9.8% > > Unlike most of the other former communist countries in central > and eastern Europe, Romania has made little progress in the > past decade in privatising its economy and attracting foreign > investment. > > Two-thirds of employees still work in big state-owned > companies and the vast majority of these are loss-making. > > Huge sums are spent each year in keeping steel and arms > companies afloat - companies which employ tens of thousands > of workers but have few or no orders on their books. > > Privatisation in Romania is now accelerating, but the new > government will need to guarantee stability to attract more > investment from abroad. > > And, while the new administration will benefit from the proceeds, > it may face the anger of those made unemployed as factories cut > back. > > -------------------------------- > > Tuesday, 28 November, 2000, 00:54 GMT > Romania's far-right contender > > Nationalist Corneliu Vadim Tudor has made big gains > > By Nick Thorpe in Bucharest > > Corneliu Vadim Tudor, the leader of the extreme nationalist > Greater Romania Party, which came second in Sunday's > elections has cause to regret a speech he made on 28 August > 1998. > > "In the present circumstances, when the police and judiciary are > against the citizens instead of defending them, it is clear that > Romania is an ungovernable country," he said. > Yes, I am a nationalist...to be a nationalist means to love your > country > > Corneliu Vadim Tudor > Greater Romania Party > > "The disaster is so awful," he concluded, "we are afraid that the > only way to rule Romania is with an automatic rifle." > > But in the last days of the election campaign, he toned down his > rhetoric and even denied uttering such words. > > This backfired when the popular tabloid Evenimentul Zilei > reprinted the speech in full on its front page, under a banner > headline Corneliu Vadim Tudor lies like automatic fire. > > 'Yes, I am a nationalist' > > In another speech, Mr Tudor called for "the dictatorship of the > law". > > > Corneliu Tudor: 'harmless clown' or extremist threat ? > > He told the BBC: "Yes, I am a nationalist. I'm a Romanian > nationalist...to be a nationalist means to love your fatherland." > > Such sentiments have done much to establish his reputation > and his popularity among part of the population as a man who > will re-establish law and order. > > Assessments of Mr Tudor, 50 years old and an accomplished > poet, vary from "harmless clown" to "the man who could > single-handedly create ethnic strife in Romania". > > He now stands an outside chance of becoming the next > president, in a run-off with former Communist Ion Iliescu on 10 > December. > > All political parties in Romania now have an obligation to isolate > (Mr Tudor) and his party > > Gyorgy Frunda > Democratic Alliance of Hungarians Even if he does not win that > race, his Greater Romania Party will be the second largest in the > new Parliament. > > On Sunday he polled 29% in the first round of the presidential > election compared with 4% in 1996. > > Perhaps most surprisingly, the greater part of those who voted > for him are young. > > One third of the 18-to-34 age group voted for him in this election, > according to a study carried out among voters by the Insomar > public opinion research agency. > > He also won a clear majority in the province of Transylvania, > which is home to Romania's large Hungarian minority, whom he > frequently attacks for their alleged "disloyalty" to Romania. > > Minorities worried > > "I am worried by the high score Mr Vadim Tudor achieved," said > Gyorgy Frunda, presidential candidate of the Democratic Alliance > of Hungarians. > > > Ion Iliescu's Socialist Party has a chequered track record in office > > "All political parties in Romania now have an obligation to isolate > him and his party," he added. > > One unexpected result of the strong showing of the nationalists, > may be to push the other winners of the election, the leftist Party > of Social Democracy, led by Ion Iliescu, towards the political > centre. > > They too have had a serious image problem in the West, after > failing to make much progress with privatisation when they last > ruled the country from 1990 - 1996. > > Their leaders are now desperate to show that theirs is the > human face of capitalism in Romania, while Mr Tudor is its > mask. >
