The European Parliament has little attraction for Romanian politicians. The general opinion seems to be that 'Bucharest is where the show and the cash is, and in Strasburg no one knows who you are.'
On 25 November Romania will go to the polls to elect its representatives to the European Parliament in Strasburg. But the problem in this new EU member state is that the politicians and voters are hardly interested.
Politician Vasile Dîncu says:
"Since joining, Romanians have taken a pragmatic view of the EU. In a material sense, Romanians have a positive image of Brussels because it's where the subsidies come from. The EU is schoolmaster and Santa Claus rolled into one. Sometimes you get punished and sometimes you get a present. But no one believes Romania can play a constructive, participative role."
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| Vasile Dîncu: "No one believes Romania can play a constructive, participative role." |
Mr Dîncu, a writer and philosopher from the western Romanian city of Cluj, is one of the 35 Romanians who since September 2005 have been acting as observers at the European Parliament. On 1 January this year Romania became a full EU member, and now the country can also send official, elected MEPs to Strasburg.
But analysts expect a dramatically low turnout at the upcoming elections. "We can be happy with 25 percent," says Radu Florea of Transforma, an organisation in Bucharest that works for reform in Romanian public administration.
Election time in Romania normally means attractive female volunteers in tight t-shirts on every square, and the airwaves buzzing with promises and lies night after night. For months Romanians get lost in the chaotic carnival of the campaign. What counts is having a big mouth, and the richest politicians get the highest viewing figures. But in the run-up to the EP elections, the silence is deafening.
Pittance
Mr Florea says the government has hardly provided any information on the European election, and it's being ignored in the media too.
"In the rare television debates on the significance of the EP, most of the talk is about what an MEP will earn and how big his apartment will be."
He estimates the monthly salary of a Romanian MEP at 1000 euros.
"That's a fortune in this country, where a teacher earns barely 250 euros a month. But for a Romanian politician it's a pittance. Here you become a politician to protect your business interests. They're people with money, and often without any knowledge of other languages. What do they want with Strasburg? Bucharest is where the show and the cash is. All that's waiting for you in Strasburg is humiliation and obscurity. Most parties will just send idiots."
Meanwhile, two students sum up the mood on the street:
"We're not interested in the European elections. Too complex, too time-consuming."
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| László Tökés: "For me the European Parliament was a school for democracy." |
At his church in the city of Oradea in Transylvania, Bishop László Tökés is preparing for the EP election campaign. He came to fame in 1989 as the Hungarian-Romanian pastor who started the revolt against dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.
He is standing as an independent candidate for the EP on a platform of dissatisfaction with the position of Romania's Hungarian minority, which makes up about 7 percent of the population . As an MEP he hopes to put minority rights high on the agenda. Mr Tökés says:
"There are numerous minorities in Europe, including the Hungarians in Romania, but the EU pays barely any attention to it."
Politician Vasile Dîncu wishes László Tökés good luck. But even he is now calling it a day in Strasburg, which he has been staking out over the past two years on behalf of his party, the post-communist Social Democrats.
"For me the EP was a school for democracy. I've learnt that politics can be conducted in a rational manner, without the Romanian tricks and emotions."
It's a school Mr Dîncu recommends to any Romanian politician.
"But unfortunately there are few for whom Europe has any attraction. The Romanian economy is growing so fast that this is the place to be. The politicians moving to Strasburg will lose out financially."
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Big discrepancy in MEPs' salaries 2009 is also the year in which the Europe-wide EP elections will be held. This means that the term of office for Romanian politicians elected on 25 November will only be eighteen months. During this time, they will miss Romania's national elections, due to be held at the end of 2008. |
*Translation RNW (mb)
Tags: Bucharest, election, European Parliament, Hungarian, László Tökés, MEP, pittance, Radu Florea, Romania, Strasburg, Transylvania, Vasile Dîncu