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The Labor Party ( ro, Partidul Muncei,George Baiculescu, Georgeta Răduică, Neonila Onofrei, ''Publicațiile periodice românești (ziare, gazete, reviste). Vol. II: Catalog alfabetic 1907–1918. Supliment 1790–1906'', p. 668. Bucharest:
Editura Academiei The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...
, 1969
Gheorghe Biciușcă, "Vremuri mari, oameni mici", in '' Furnica'', Vol. XIV, Issue 3, December 1918, p. 2Tamara Teodorescu, Rodica Fochi, Florența Sădeanu, Liana Miclescu, Lucreția Angheluță, ''Bibliografia românească modernă (1831-1918). Vol. II: D–K'', Editura științifică și enciclopedică, Bucharest, 1986, p.84. modernized ''Partidul Muncii'', PM) was a minor left-wing political group in
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. Based in the city of
Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
, and founded by
George Diamandy George Ion Diamandy or Diamandi, first name also Gheorghe or Georges (February 27, 1867 – December 27, 1917), was a Romanian politician, dramatist, social scientist, and archeologist. Although a rich landowner of aristocratic background, he was o ...
, in its inception it was a split from the National Liberal Party (PNL). The PM responded to the major social and political crisis sparked by World War I, with the southern regions of Romania having been invaded and occupied by Germany. It notably pushed for urgent
land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...
,
universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
, and
labor rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influen ...
, also wishing to replace the 1866 Constitution with a more democratic one, and advocating
class collaboration Class collaboration is a principle of social organization based upon the belief that the division of society into a hierarchy of social classes is a positive and essential aspect of civilization. Fascist support Class collaboration is one of the ...
. Through Diamandy, its roots were planted in the "generous youth" current of 19th-century
reformism Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can eve ...
. Co-chaired by
Nicolae L. Lupu Nicolae L. Lupu (November 4, 1876 – December 4, 1946) was a Romanian left-wing politician and social physician. Originally a leader of the Labor Party, which was joined with the Peasants' Party, Lupu served as Interior Minister in 1919–19 ...
, the PM grouped together disgruntled members of the PNL, old affiliates of homegrown
Poporanism Poporanism is a Romanian version of nationalism and populism. The word is derived from ''popor'', meaning "people" in Romanian. Founded by Constantin Stere in the early 1890s, Poporanism is distinguished by its opposition to socialism, promotion ...
, and left-agarianists with republican leanings, inspired by the success of Russian Revolutionary Socialists (or "Esers"). It was perceived as a nuisance by the institutions of the
Romanian Kingdom The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...
, but largely dismissed as shambolic, and reportedly criticized as "bourgeois" by Russian radicals. It campaigned independently during the June 1918 elections, but these registered a sweep for the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
; the PM only held one seat in
Chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations * Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics * Debate chamber, the space or room that houses delib ...
, taken by
Grigore Trancu-Iași Grigore, the equivalent of Gregory, is a Romanian-language first name. It may refer to: *Grigore Alexandrescu (1810–1885), Romanian poet and translator *Grigore Antipa (1866–1944), Romanian Darwinist biologist, ichthyologist, ecologist, oceano ...
. Pushed into obscurity by the events of the war, which drove its other leaders into exile, the PM, relaunched under the leadership of landowner Numa Protopopescu, divided itself into factions. One of these continued to survive as a separate wing of the anti-PNL People's League. Lupu later reorganized the group as a component of the "Parliamentary Bloc", backing a government formed around the
Romanian National Party The Romanian National Party ( ro, Partidul Național Român, PNR), initially known as the Romanian National Party in Transylvania and Banat (), was a political party which was initially designed to offer ethnic representation to Romanians in the ...
in 1920. He and his supporters were also among those who established the Peasants' Party in 1921.


History


Origins

A rebellious aristocrat and landowner, Diamandy was introduced to socialism ca. 1887, when he wrote his first articles in the
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
review ''
Contemporanul ''Contemporanul'' (The Contemporary) is a Romanian literary magazine published in Iaşi, Romania from 1881 to 1891. It was sponsored by the socialist circle of the city. A new magazine ''Contimporanul ''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of ...
''. Florin Faifer
"Moșierul"
in ''
Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Literary Talks'') is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania. History and profile ''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by ...
'', April 2002
In the 1890s, he had set up in Paris his own ''L'Ère Nouvelle'', which represented a heterodox form of Marxism, and helped launch the writing career of
Georges Sorel Georges Eugène Sorel (; ; 2 November 1847 – 29 August 1922) was a French social thinker, political theorist, historian, and later journalist. He has inspired theories and movements grouped under the name of Sorelianism. His social and p ...
. As the latter noted, Diamandy was an "unreliable" character, who "simply disappeared" from his life at some point. Diamandy's pragmatic Marxism was developed during his years in the
Romanian Social Democratic Workers' Party The Social Democratic Workers' Party of Romania (, PSDMR), established in 1893, was the first modern socialist political party in Romania. A Marxist organization, the PSDMR was part of the Second International and sent its representatives to the ...
(PSDMR), where he sought to introduce a policy of alliances with the establishment parties: first a cartel with the Conservative Party, and later a form of close cooperation with the PNL, to the point of merger. By 1899, he supported making the PSDMR into a
reformist Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can eve ...
"National Democratic" or "Progressive Democratic" party, and sealed deals with the PNL's own " Poporanist" (agrarian) wing. This effectively split the PSDMR into two or more factions: the "generous youth" faction, led by Diamandy and
Vasile Morțun Vasile G. Morțun (November 30, 1860 – July 20, 1919) was a Romanian politician, playwright and prose writer. Biography Origins, journalism and political beginnings Born in Roman, he came from a wealthy Moldavian '' boyar'' family, and was o ...
, registered with the PNL. During the following 10 years, Diamandy, still calling himself a
dialectical materialist Dialectical materialism is a philosophy of science, history, and nature developed in Europe and based on the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxist dialectics, as a materialist philosophy, emphasizes the importance of real-world con ...
, became an internal critic of National Liberalism. His ''Revista Democrației Române'' accused the PNL establishment of having turned
reactionary In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the ''status quo ante'', the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics abse ...
and sketched out a plan for the introduction of
universal male suffrage Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult male citizens within a political system are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification. It is sometimes summarized by the slog ...
. Pushed out of political affairs by the PNL's leadership before the March 1911 elections, Diamandy focused on his activity as a comedic writer. He returned into the mainstream during the early stages of World War I, when Romania preserved a policy of neutrality under PNL
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Ion I. C. Brătianu. The latter selected Diamandy as his semi-official envoy to
Entente countries The Allies of World War I, Entente Powers, or Allied Powers were a coalition of countries led by France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the United States against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman E ...
, where he negotiated deals and treaties of mutual assistance. He was again elected to
Chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations * Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics * Debate chamber, the space or room that houses delib ...
in 1914, where he showed himself to be a cautious supporter of an alliance between Romania and the Entente. In summer 1916, Brătianu agreed to a political and territorial deal, and Romania entered the war as an Entente country. Diamandy fought in the subsequent campaign, but was soon hospitalized for a heart condition. In short while, Romania was overwhelmed by the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
, losing the
Battle of Bucharest The Battle of Bucharest, also known as the '' Argeş–Neajlov Defensive Operation'' in Romania, was the last battle of the Romanian Campaign of 1916 in World War I, in which the Central Powers' combatants, led by General Erich von Falkenhayn, ...
; the government and the Chamber were moved to Iași, the provisional capital, and Romania continued to fight alongside the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
. Retaking his seat, Diamandy reemerged as one of Brătianu's extreme critics, accusing him of having mismanaged the whole campaign. The
February Revolution The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...
of 1917 installed a left-leaning and republican
Government of Russia The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russia ...
, which rekindled Diamandy's radicalism. Reportedly, he argued that the new Russian democracy was incompatible with Brătianu's "tyrannical" government.


Activities

On April 27 or May 1, 1917,
Grigore Trancu-Iași Grigore, the equivalent of Gregory, is a Romanian-language first name. It may refer to: *Grigore Alexandrescu (1810–1885), Romanian poet and translator *Grigore Antipa (1866–1944), Romanian Darwinist biologist, ichthyologist, ecologist, oceano ...
, "Doctorul Cantacuzino în politică", in ''
Adevărul ''Adevărul'' (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published dur ...
'', January 18, 1934, pp. 1–2
Diamandy formed the PM as a
parliamentary party A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliamentar ...
, centered on the issue of
land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...
. Described in literature as a "broad bourgeois democratic" tendency, a "left-bourgeois party", or the parliament's "socialist faction", Radu Petrescu
"Enigma Ilie Cătărău (II)"
in ''
Contrafort ''Contrafort'' is a magazine based in Chişinău, Moldova. It was launched in October 1994. ''Contrafort'' promotes a modern critical spirit while focusing on the contemporary literature and culture of the Republic of Moldova. References Ex ...
'', Issues 7–8/2012
it supposedly comprised "mainly oliticiansformed at the school of socialism."C. T. Petrescu, p. 312 Diamandy openly criticized the PNL for wanting to enact a redistribution of land, since, he claimed, Brătianu no longer had a "moral right" to do so. According to the PNL's
Ion G. Duca Ion Gheorghe Duca (; 20 December 1879 – 29 December 1933) was Romanian politician and the Prime Minister of Romania from 14 November to 29 December 1933, when he was assassinated for his efforts to suppress the fascist Iron Guard movement. ...
, Diamandy was bluffing, as he himself did not support a complete land reform. The
Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
,
Gheorghe Gh. Mârzescu Gheorghe Gh. Mârzescu (also known as George G. Mârzescu; July 4, 1876 – May 12, 1926) was a Romanian lawyer, journalist and politician. A member of the National Liberal Party (PNL), he was Minister of Agriculture (1916–1918), Interior ...
, was also a critic of Diamandy's politics, describing them as an elaborate "operetta" production "for the benefit of the peasants". Gheorghe I. Florescu
"Însemnări zilnice din anii Primului Război Mondial"
in ''
Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Literary Talks'') is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania. History and profile ''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by ...
'', November 2004
According to writer and civil servant
Arthur Gorovei Arthur Gorovei (born 19 February 1864, Fălticeni – d. 19 March 1951, Bucharest) was a Romanian writer, folklorist and ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthro ...
, his friend Diamandy was known locally for persecuting the peasants living on his own estate. Diamandy soon became noted for his displays of Russian socialist symbolism, in particular
calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...
redshirts, "Russian worker's blouse ,Duca, p. 176 or '' tolstovka'' garments. He was the PM theoretician, authoring its program and publishing it as a brochure. Calling for the union of "clean souls" and "healthy energies", it proposed a universal land reform giving each peasant 5
hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...
s of land, and a vote for all citizens over the age of 20, women included. Also included as demands were the
right to strike Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the I ...
,
child labor law Child labour laws are statutes placing restrictions and regulations on the work of minors. Child labour increased during the Industrial Revolution due to the children's abilities to access smaller spaces and the ability to pay children less wage ...
s, a nationalization of the
National Bank In banking, the term national bank carries several meanings: * a bank owned by the state * an ordinary private bank which operates nationally (as opposed to regionally or locally or even internationally) * in the United States, an ordinary p ...
, and a new constitution enshrining
class collaboration Class collaboration is a principle of social organization based upon the belief that the division of society into a hierarchy of social classes is a positive and essential aspect of civilization. Fascist support Class collaboration is one of the ...
. The party also drew up plans for decentralization with
economic interventionism Economic interventionism, sometimes also called state interventionism, is an economic policy position favouring government intervention in the market process with the intention of correcting market failures and promoting the general welfare of ...
,
cooperative farming An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activity. A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural service cooperati ...
,
progressive taxation A progressive tax is a tax in which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases.Sommerfeld, Ray M., Silvia A. Madeo, Kenneth E. Anderson, Betty R. Jackson (1992), ''Concepts of Taxation'', Dryden Press: Fort Worth, TX The term ''progre ...
, and the expropriation of the subsoil. The brochure was immediately confiscated by military censorship, acting on Duca's orders; the latter explained that he did object to its demands, but disliked its combative nature in a time of crisis. According to Duca's hostile account, the PM was largely shaped by Diamandy's "pathological state", his heart disease having led him to lose his sense of control and moderation. Gorovei also dismissed the PM as a "prank". The party manifesto was signed at the Diamandy home on 40 de Sfinți Alley, with the socialist-and-Poporanist physician
Ioan Cantacuzino Ioan I. Cantacuzino (; also Ion Cantacuzino; 25 November 1863 – 14 January 1934) was a renowned Romanian physician and bacteriologist, a professor at the School of Medicine and Pharmacy of the University of Bucharest, and a titular member of ...
as its first signatory; their document was read out in parliament by Diamandy, and therefore had to be published in the government gazette, ''
Monitorul Oficial ''Monitorul Oficial al României'' is the official gazette of Romania, in which all the promulgated bills, presidential decrees, governmental A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, general ...
'', which rendered censorship futile. The radical agrarianist
Nicolae L. Lupu Nicolae L. Lupu (November 4, 1876 – December 4, 1946) was a Romanian left-wing politician and social physician. Originally a leader of the Labor Party, which was joined with the Peasants' Party, Lupu served as Interior Minister in 1919–19 ...
, whose signature was also present on that document, was selected as the PM co-chairman. A physician and civil servant, he had published in the Poporanist press indictments of the social misery and political repression prevalent in the countryside. Lupu's advocacy of land reform took the form of a personal conflict with Mârzescu, carried out in Chamber. Outside parliament, several figures from civil society also signed their names to the party manifesto: journalist Eugen Goga (brother of the more famous poet), lawyer Deodat Țăranu, teachers Mihai Pastia and
Spiridon Popescu Spiridon Popescu (August 13, 1864 – May 8, 1933) was a Romanian prose writer. Born in Rogojeni, Galați County, his parents were the peasant Constantin Dumitrașcu al Popei and his wife Safta (''née'' Tofan). He attended seminary in Galaț ...
, and chemist
Petre Bogdan Petre is a surname and given name derived from Peter. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Petre * Charles Petre Eyre (1817–1902), English Roman Catholic prelate * Ion Petre Stoican (circa 1930–1990), Romanian vio ...
. The party was also joined by
Grigore Iunian Grigore Iunian (September 30, 1882 – 1939) was a Romanian left-wing politician and lawyer. A member of the National Liberal Party (PNL) during the 1910s, he rallied with the Peasants' Party (PȚ) after World War I, and followed it into the ...
,
Grigore Trancu-Iași Grigore, the equivalent of Gregory, is a Romanian-language first name. It may refer to: *Grigore Alexandrescu (1810–1885), Romanian poet and translator *Grigore Antipa (1866–1944), Romanian Darwinist biologist, ichthyologist, ecologist, oceano ...
, Mihail Macavei, and four other PNL with various grievances against their former party: Mihai Carp, Tilică Ioanid, Ioan P. Rădulescu-Putna, and Numa "Nunucă" Protopopescu. Reportedly, the party also claimed to have registered a verbal pledge of support from the "peasant deputy" Andrei Marinescu, who died in the
typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...
epidemic. Marinescu's funeral, Duca reports, was a "macabre scene", in which the PNL and PM speakers "fought over the corpse". Other affiliates included doctors
Constantin Ion Parhon Constantin Ion Parhon (; 15 October 1874 – 9 August 1969) was a Romanian neuropsychiatrist, endocrinologist and politician. He was the first head of state of the Romanian People's Republic from 1947 to 1952. Parhon was President of the Physic ...
and Alexandru Slătineanu. The PM coexisted with an
Orthodox Marxist Orthodox Marxism is the body of Marxist thought that emerged after the death of Karl Marx (1818–1883) and which became the official philosophy of the majority of the socialist movement as represented in the Second International until the Firs ...
group, set up in Iași by
Leon Ghelerter Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fr ...
and
Max Wexler Max Wexler (also spelled Vexler or Wechsler, 4 November 1870 – 14 May 1917) was a Romanian socialist activist and journalist, regarded as one of the main Marxist theorist of the early Romanian workers' movement. Active in the first Romania ...
(the latter of whom was assassinated in May "for his attempts to carry out a revolution in Romania"). Ghelerter and his colleagues viewed the Laborites as impostors, "a diversion by the authorities to control the workers." This suspicion was at least in part validated by Trancu-Iași, who boasted to
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Ferdinand I: "our party's role is to lure the working strata into a healthy direction". In specifying what was "unhealthy", Trancu-Iași nominated three leading socialists on the far-left: Christian Rakovski,
I. C. Frimu Ion Costache Frimu ( – ) was a Romanian socialist militant and politician, a leading member of the Social Democratic Party of Romania (PSDR) and labor activist. He died after being beaten and contracting an illness in prison, where he was b ...
, and
Alecu Constantinescu Alexandru "Alecu" Constantinescu (March 10, 1872 – March 28, 1949) was Romanian trade unionist, journalist and socialist and pacifist militant, one of the major advocates of the transformation of the Romanian socialist movement into a communist ...
. In addition to promoting land and electoral reforms, the PM was still widely suspected of being republican and conspiratorial. Ferdinand feared "the growth of a socialist movement in our country", and more particularly Diamandy's contacts with the
Esers The Socialist Revolutionary Party, or the Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries (the SRs, , or Esers, russian: эсеры, translit=esery, label=none; russian: Партия социалистов-революционеров, ), was a major politi ...
. On its left, the PM included republicans such as Lupu, who allegedly carried out secret negotiations with other politicians, and with the Russians, in order to bring down both the king and Brătianu through a putsch. According to Duca, these negotiations stalled when the envoy of the Iași military
soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
discovered that the "oligarchic" and "bourgeois" PM had no backing in the countryside. The PM was founded just days after a street demonstration organized by the Russian soviet, described by Duca as an attempted coup spurred on by the socialist Rakovski, supposedly thwarted by a Romanian demonstration of strength. According to Duca, the PM intended to partake in the putsch, but "in the end got scared ..because they sensed that if the Russian revolutionaries are to stage a coup, it would not go in their favor". Diamandy, who was structurally a monarchist, printed a call to order, addressing it to the Romanian proletariat. Afterward, the Laborites portrayed themselves as patriotic resisters, and Lupu even threatened to duel those who questioned his loyalty. The PM continued to have links with the revolutionary activist
Ilie Cătărău Ilie V. Cătărău (, reportedly born Katarov, last name also Cătărău-Orhei; Bogdan Florin Popovici"Muntele Tâmpa și simbolurile sale. De la Árpád la Stalin"Bessarabia Governorate The Bessarabia Governorate (, ) was a part of the Russian Empire from 1812 to 1917. Initially known as Bessarabia Oblast (Бессарабская область, ''Bessarabskaya oblast'') as well as, following 1871, a governorate, it included ...
. He contacted the
National Moldavian Party The National Moldavian Party was a political party in Bessarabia. History Prior to 1917, Bessarabian intelligentsia was divided between noblemen, conservatives, democrats, and socialists. Vasile Stroescu, a rich but very modest filantrop bo ...
, whose leader
Pan Halippa Pantelimon "Pan" Halippa (1 August 1883 – 30 April 1979) was a Bessarabian and later Romanian journalist and politician. One of the most important promoters of Romanian nationalism in Bessarabia and of this province's union with Romania, he wa ...
dismissed the PM as irrelevant.


Dissolution

Trancu-Iași reports that, in May–June 1917, renewed offensive of the Central Powers and a serious government crisis, decision-makers to "implore" that Diamandy and Cantacuzino join the cabinet team as PM representatives—Cantacuzino refused the offer. The ailing Diamandy, meanwhile, became one of the various Romanian public figures taking refuge in Russia. He was caught there by the
October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
, and again took flight, died on board a refugee ship sailing the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
. The same month, Lupu also left Romania as a delegate of the University Professors' Association, campaigning for the Romanian cause in the United States. According to Duca, his escaping was the equivalent of a desertion, leaving typhus-stricken Romania without a highly trained physician. Lupu defended himself against such accusations by citing his role as a founder of the Labor Party: "in this capacity, I could form direct links with the Western democracies"; his contacts included
Marcel Cachin Marcel Cachin (20 September 1869 – 12 February 1958) was a French Communist politician and editor of the daily newspaper ''L'Humanite''. In 1891, Cachin joined Jules Guesde's French Workers' Party (POF). In 1905, he joined the new French ...
and
Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...
. Lupu was still PM president in early 1918, when a Conservative cabinet, presided upon by
Alexandru Marghiloman Alexandru Marghiloman (4 July 1854 – 10 May 1925) was a Romanian conservative Diplomat, statesman who served for a short time in 1918 (March–October) as Prime Minister of Romania, and had a decisive role during World War I. Early career Bo ...
, was called in to sign peace with the Central Powers. The PM, which coalesced around a Iași newspaper called ''Tribuna'', fought against that measure, and against Marghiloman's other policies, presenting its own candidates for the 1918 election. These were held with universal male suffrage, the Laborites having been instrumental in blocking legislation for
Demeny voting Demeny voting is the provision of a political voice for children by allowing parents or guardians to vote on their behalf. The term was coined by Warren C. Sanderson in 2007. Under a Demeny voting system, each parent would cast a proxy vote, wo ...
and other such forms of disenfranchisement. Marghiloman's candidates emerged as winners with a crushing majority, with the PM taking no seats in
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and only one in Chamber—with Trancu-Iași. With
Simeon G. Murafa Simeon Gheorghevici Murafa Lucia Sava''Viața cotidiană în orașul Chișinău la începutul secolului al XX-lea (1900–1918). Monografii Antim VIII'' Editura Pontos, Chișinău, 2010, p.171-172. (also spelled Simion or Semion Murafa; May 24, ...
, Cătărău founded his own "Romanian Revolutionary Party", a blend of anarchism and
Romanian nationalism Romanian nationalism is the nationalism which asserts that Romanians are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of Romanians. Its extremist variation is the Romanian ultranationalism.Aristotle KallisGenocide and Fascism: The Eliminationist Drive ...
, before the Russian government arrested him for his propaganda in Bessarabia. Although the PM's Carp announced a worldwide "rapid evolution to the left" and the transfer of social control toward "the grand army of labor", the group as a whole was viewed as moderate, or even reactionary. An editorial note by the satirist
George Ranetti George or Gheorghe Ranetti, born George Ranete
entry in the
Jewish emancipation Jewish emancipation was the process in various nations in Europe of eliminating Jewish disabilities, e.g. Jewish quotas, to which European Jews were then subject, and the recognition of Jews as entitled to equality and citizenship rights. It incl ...
and
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
, could only be read as a "seductive yarn", as long as the leadership was fundamentally cut off from the lower strata of society. The party was also joined by civil servant
Grigore Filipescu Grigore N. Filipescu (also known as Griguță Filipescu, Francization, Francized as ''Grégoire Filipesco''; October 1, 1886 – August 25, 1938) was a Romanian politician, journalist and engineer, the chief editor of ''Epoca (Romania), Epoca'' da ...
, formerly a dissident Conservative. He was close to the politically ambitious General
Alexandru Averescu Alexandru Averescu (; 9 March 1859 – 2 October 1938) was a Romanian marshal, diplomat and populist politician. A Romanian Armed Forces Commander during World War I, he served as Prime Minister of three separate cabinets (as well as being ''inter ...
, supporting a broad front against the PNL, to be established under Averescu's presidency. In April 1919, represented by Trancu-Iași, it signed up to the People's League (PL), created in Iași by Averescu. His contribution as Romania's inaugural
Minister of Labor Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...
was hotly contested by the mainline
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
(PS), resulting in the workers' unrest of October 1920. Various other former PM members opted to return into the PNL.C. T. Petrescu, p. 313 The PM was generally considered defunct by late 1918 or early 1919. However, the LP was purposefully created as a federation, allowing for the existence of individual parties–Filipescu personally moderated between the LP's far-right, represented by
A. C. Cuza Alexandru C. Cuza (8 November 1857 – 3 November 1947), also known as A. C. Cuza, was a Romanian far-right politician and economist. Early life Born in Iași, Cuza attended secondary school in his native city and in Dresden, Saxony, Germany, ...
, and his PM colleagues. A note in the PNL organ '' Mișcarea'' reported that, ahead of the November 1919 elections, the PM in
Iași County Iași County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with the administrative seat at Iași. It is the most populous county in Romania, after the Municipality of Bucharest (which has the same administrative level as that of a coun ...
had become a "Peasants' Party" and was "made up of only 8-to-10 people", "unsure about whether to field candidates or to form a cartel with any other group". Throughout the interval, the Laborites had talks with the consolidated PS, a nominal successor of the PSDR. Lupu and his followers negotiated directly with the PS, but found it impossible to agree on a common platform. During the elections, Lupu signed up with the Independent-Popular List, getting himself reelected. This group, which won support from ''
Adevărul ''Adevărul'' (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published dur ...
'' newspaper and used a bell for its electoral symbol, also included dissidents from other parties, among them
Constantin Costa-Foru Constantin Gheorghe Costa-Foru (26 October 1856 - 15 August 1935) was a Romanian journalist, lawyer and human rights activist. He was born in Bucharest on 26 October 1956, in a wealthy family. His father, Gheorghe Costa-Foru (1820–1876), was a ...
and N. D. Cocea. Trancu-Iași noted in 1934 that all demands stated in the PM's original manifesto had by then been fulfilled. Defining himself as a "socialist in my own way", a "
national socialist Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
" and a monarchist, Lupu was also an ally of
Ion Mihalache Ion Mihalache (; March 3, 1882 – February 5, 1963) was a Romanian agrarian politician, the founder and leader of the Peasants' Party (PȚ) and a main figure of its successor, the National Peasants' Party (PNȚ). Early life A schoolteacher bor ...
's Peasants' Party (PȚ), and strongly opposed to Averescu's policies. To his old proposals for reform, he added mandatory leasing and
rent regulation Rent regulation is a system of laws, administered by a court or a public authority, which aims to ensure the affordability of housing and tenancies on the rental market for dwellings. Generally, a system of rent regulation involves: * Price con ...
, in an effort to ensure
affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...
. In 1920, he registered the PM as a component of the "Parliamentary Bloc" governing alliance, which comprised the PȚ, the
Romanian National Party The Romanian National Party ( ro, Partidul Național Român, PNR), initially known as the Romanian National Party in Transylvania and Banat (), was a political party which was initially designed to offer ethnic representation to Romanians in the ...
, the Democratic Nationalist Party, the
Bessarabian Peasants' Party The Bessarabian Peasants' Party ( ro, Partidul Țărănesc din Basarabia, PȚB or PȚ-Bas; also ''Partidul Țărănesc Basarabean'', ''Partidul Țărănist Basarabean'') or Moldavian National Democratic Party (''Partidul Național-Democrat Moldove ...
, and the Democratic Union Party. Lupu continued to claim leadership of the PM, when, in 1921, it formalized its fusion with the PȚ; Parhon, affiliated with the short-lived Laborer Party (''Partidul Muncitor''), had rallied with the PȚ in 1919.Agrigoroaiei, pp. 183–184; Ion Ilincioiu, "Studiu introductiv", in Vasile Niculae, Ion Ilincioiu, Stelian Neagoe (eds.), ''Doctrina țărănistă în România. Antologie de texte'', p. 9. Bucharest: Editura Noua Alternativă & Social Theory Institute of the Romanian Academy, 1994. ; Murgescu ''et al.'', pp. 223, 303–305 Macavei remains the only documented case of a PM member joining the PS; affiliating with the socialists' far-left, he later became a member of the outlawed
Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
.


Electoral history


Legislative elections


Notes


References

*Ion Agrigoroaiei, "Tradițiile democratice ale presei ieșene: ziarul ''Tribuna'' (1918)", in ''Cercetări Istorice'', Vol. VII, 1976, pp. 175–184. *
Alexandru Averescu Alexandru Averescu (; 9 March 1859 – 2 October 1938) was a Romanian marshal, diplomat and populist politician. A Romanian Armed Forces Commander during World War I, he served as Prime Minister of three separate cabinets (as well as being ''inter ...
, ''Notițe zilnice din războiu''. Bucharest: Editura Cultura Națională, . y.*Adrian Butnaru, "File din viața unei familii. Frații Constantin și George Diamandy în preajma și vremea Primului Război Mondial. I", in ''Gândirea Militară Românească'', Issues 1/2013, pp. 135–149; "File din viața unei familii. Frații Constantin și George Diamandy în preajma și vremea Primului Război Mondial. II", in ''Gândirea Militară Românească'', Issues 2/2013, pp. 177–188. *
Ion G. Duca Ion Gheorghe Duca (; 20 December 1879 – 29 December 1933) was Romanian politician and the Prime Minister of Romania from 14 November to 29 December 1933, when he was assassinated for his efforts to suppress the fascist Iron Guard movement. ...
, ''Amintiri politice, II''. Munich: Jon Dumitru-Verlag, 1981. *
Arthur Gorovei Arthur Gorovei (born 19 February 1864, Fălticeni – d. 19 March 1951, Bucharest) was a Romanian writer, folklorist and ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthro ...
, ''Alte vremuri. Amintiri literare''. Fălticeni: J. Bendit, 1930. *
Bogdan Murgescu Bogdan or Bohdan ( Cyrillic: Богдан) is a Slavic masculine name that appears in all Slavic countries as well as Romania and Moldova. It is derived from the Slavic words '' Bog/Boh'' (Cyrillic: Бог), meaning "god", and ''dan'' (Cyrillic ...
''et al.'', ''România Mare votează. Alegerile parlamentare din 1919 "la firul ierbii"''. Iași:
Polirom Polirom or Editura Polirom ("Polirom" Publishing House) is a Romanian publishing house with a tradition of publishing classics of international literature and also various titles in the fields of social sciences, such as psychology, sociology and a ...
, 2019. *
Z. Ornea Zigu Ornea (; born Zigu Orenstein Andrei Vasilescu"La ceas aniversar – Cornel Popa la 75 de ani: 'Am refuzat numeroase demnități pentru a rămâne credincios logicii și filosofiei analitice.' ", in Revista de Filosofie Analitică', Vol. II, N ...
, ''Viața lui C. Stere'', Vols. I–II. Bucharest:
Cartea Românească Cartea Românească ("The Romanian Book") is a publishing house in Bucharest, Romania, founded in 1919. Disestablished by the Communist Romania, communist regime in 1948, it was restored under later communism, in 1970, when it functioned as the off ...
, 1989. & *
Constantin Titel Petrescu Constantin Titel Petrescu (5 February 1888 – 2 September 1957) was a Romanian politician and lawyer. He was the leader of the Romanian Social Democratic Party. He was born in Craiova, the son of an employee of the National Bank in Buchare ...
, ''Socialismul în România. 1835 – 6 septembrie 1940''. Bucharest: Dacia Traiana, . y.* Andrei Popescu
"Grigore N. Filipescu (1886–1938): Repere biografice"
in ''Analele Universității din București. Seria Științe Politice'', Vol. 14 (2012), Issue 2, pp. 17–46. *Cornel Popescu, George Daniel Ungureanu, "Romanian Peasantry and Bulgarian Agrarianism in the Interwar Period: Benchmarks for a Comparative Analysis", in ''The Romanian Review of Social Sciences'', Issue 16, 2014, pp. 31–59. *Oltea Rășcanu Gramaticu, "Un luptător pentru apărarea idealurilor democratice: dr. Nicolae Lupu", in ''Acta Moldaviae Meridionalis'', Vols. XXV–XXVII (II), 2004–2006, pp. 421–431. *
Georges Sorel Georges Eugène Sorel (; ; 2 November 1847 – 29 August 1922) was a French social thinker, political theorist, historian, and later journalist. He has inspired theories and movements grouped under the name of Sorelianism. His social and p ...
, "Lettres de Georges Sorel à Jean Bourdeau. Deuxième partie: 1913–1921", in ''Mille Neuf Cent'', Issues 15/1997, pp. 127–214. *Andrei Răzvan Voinea, Irina Calotă, ''Locuințe pentru munictori și funcționari. Casa Construcțiilor și parcelarea Vatra Luminoasă (1930—1949)''. Bucharest: Asociația Studio Zona, 2021. {{Historical Romanian political parties 1917 establishments in Romania 1921 disestablishments in Romania Political parties established in 1917 Political parties disestablished in 1921 Poporanism National Liberal Party (Romania) Agrarian parties in Romania Defunct agrarian political parties Nationalist parties in Romania Romanian nationalist parties Left-wing nationalist parties Labour parties Republicanism in the Kingdom of Romania Republican parties Defunct socialist parties in Romania History of Iași Romania in World War I