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Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2000
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Sunday Surprise
Extremist politician Corneliu Vadim Tudor emerges as a serious contender for the Romanian presidency
By JEFF CHU
The intricacies of policy and government have never been Corneliu Vadim Tudor's forté. But from the looks of Romania's most recent elections, it doesn't matter. The 51-year-old publisher, poet and leader of the extremist Greater Romania Party grabbed more than a quarter of the vote in the presidential election. More significantly, he forced a run-off with former president and pre-vote favorite Ion Iliescu, sending ripples of shock through Romanian society and beyond.
Even Tudor himself was surprised, calling the outcome a miracle. Perhaps he shouldn't have been. He campaigned as Romania's white knight, promising to fight corruption and styling himself a champion of the poor, a timely message given the country's economic stagnation and disenchantment with the political status quo. Current President Emil Constantinescu swept into office in 1996 with a centrist five-party coalition and the public's hopes — for reform, for an end to corruption, for a rise in the standard of living — riding on his government's shoulders. Those collapsed thanks to inter-party disputes and the fall of one Prime Minister after another. Inflation has soared, as the chances of joining the E.U. have fallen. The unemployment rate in Romania is 50% higher today than it was in 1996.
A charismatic speaker and an astute politician, Tudor succeeded in reaching voters who saw little hope for the future, especially under Iliescu, who leads Romania's Social Democrats (formerly the Communists). Tudor and his party promised to confiscate illegally acquired wealth, pledged to distribute seized funds to the poor and declared that corrupt officials would be prosecuted by public tribunals. They toted banners with slogans such as "Down with the Mafia and long live the homeland!"
Those who voted for Tudor are people with many needs, few chances and a belief that help can come from the top. "They are so naive and they do not realize that the person shouting 'Down with Mafia' in fact has behind him a lot of Mafia," says journalist Corneal Nistorescu. "But how else could the 40% of Romanians living in poverty have voted?" According to political analyst Stelian Tanase, Tudor "showed himself as a savior. When people are poor, such speech is seductive. People do not ask if there are resources to enforce it."
Ironically, Tudor may also have enjoyed the help of Iliescu, who ran a negative campaign, painting the picture of a state of catastrophe and panic, Romania at the edge of the abyss. It's usually a vote-winning tactic, but it backfired on the former president, who is seen as too much of an establishment figure.
Early in the campaign Tudor too conveyed a worst-case message, saying at one point, "It became obvious that the disaster is so terrible, Romania can only be led with the machine gun." But as the election drew closer, his aides worked to soften his hardline image. Paradoxically, says political analyst Alina Mungiu, Tudor "has increased [his] support so much in a campaign where nationalism was not a subject at all."
Maybe nationalism is a button he didn't need to push. Tudor's vitriol is well-documented, most prominently in his own magazines, which contain a litany of anti-Jewish, anti-Hungarian and anti-Gypsy arguments. He has spoken against Romania's ethnic Hungarian minority, which makes up about 7% of the population, and proposed the abolition of Hungarian political parties in Romania. He has blamed the 400,000-strong Roma (as the Gypsy group is more appropriately called) minority for many of the country's crime and economic problems. And his promotion of "Greater Romania" troubles Moldova, a former Soviet republic that shares a common language and history with its larger neighbor. Leaders there fear that a Tudor victory could galvanize the small, but significant minority that favors union with Romania.
So will he win? Early polls show that the Dec. 10 run-off for the presidency will be close, with one local independent polling organization predicting a slim Iliescu victory and another calling the vote in Tudor's favor. Emboldened by the numbers, Tudor said, "In the second round I will blow up Iliescu. He will go to the first asylum to turn himself in." But he also proposed an alliance with the Social Democrats, a suggestion Iliescu quickly rejected, dismissing Tudor's words as "hollow."
Hollow or not, Romanians seem to be listening to Tudor — and in many cases, believing that his is the best path forward for their country. Where that path will lead — and indeed, what truly lies beneath his veneer of fiery charisma — may not now be clear. But if they pick him as their next President, the people will soon find out.
With reporting by Mihai Radu/Bucharest
TIME first profiled Corneliu Vadim Tudor in the Winter '98/'99 special issue, Visions of Europe. To read that story, click here.
Nominate your own Person to Watch — As part of TIME's Fast Forward Europe special issue, we are scouring the continent to find the people who will be shaping the future. E-mail us at mail@timeatlantic.com and let us know who you think tomorrow's movers and shakers will be — who knows, maybe they will end up in the pages of TIME Magazine or on timeeurope.com!
Check out timeeurope.com for more Fast Forward Europe stories in the days and weeks to come. Our Fast Forward coverage culminates in a year-end special issue and website to be published on December 14
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