The United Socialist Party (, abbreviated P.S.U.) was a political party 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 ...

, formed in 1933 through the merger of the Independent Socialist Party (PSI) and the Socialist Party (led by Constantin Popovici). PSU was a small party but played an important role within the left-wing movement, especially through its repeated attempts to promote unity between the

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 ...

(PCR) and (PSD). PSU was affiliated with the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-based International Bureau of Revolutionary Socialist Unity.

Towards the merger of Popovici and the Independent Socialists

The Socialist Party of Popovici held its party congress 11–12 March 1933. The final declaration of the congress called for working towards socialist unity on the basis of

class struggle Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...

, and appealed for the formation of a 'Federation of the Social and Indepdendent Socialist Parties' as an intermediary step towards merger of the two parties. After the Socialist Party congress, a meeting was held at the PSI headquarters at which a joint commission for the Federation was created—with C. Popovici, M. Radian, N. Bogatin and Florin Petrescu from the Popovici socialists and

Ștefan Voitec Ștefan Voitec (also rendered Ștefan Voitech,''Politics and Political Parties'', pp. 264, 554 Stepan Voitek;V. Kolesnik, "Spioonide Internatsionaal (Trotskistid faschistlikkude luureasutuste tegevuses)", in ''Edasi'', Issue 105/1937, p. 2 June 1 ...

, M. Raichman, and C. Popescu from PSI.

Foundation of PSU

PSU was founded on 24 August 1933 Dr. became the party chairman, whilst

and Popovici were named general secretaries of the party. M. Radian became the treasurer of the party.

Mihail Gheorghiu Bujor Mihail Gheorghiu Bujor (November 8, 1881 – June 17, 1964) was a Romanian lawyer, journalist and socialist militant. An important figure in the early Romanian labour movement, he embraced communism during World War I and organised Romanian armed ...

was invited by the party to address a mass rally in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

at which the formation of the party was to be announced. By the fall of 1933 PSU had three regional committees and 15 independent county-level committees (incl. Baia,

Bacău Bacău ( , , ; hu, Bákó; la, Bacovia) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. At the 2016 national estimation it had a population of 196,883, making it the 12th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of ...

Cahul Cahul (; also known by other alternative names) is a city and municipality in southern Moldova. The city is the administrative center of Cahul District; it also administers one village, Cotihana. As of 2014 census, the city has had a populatio ...

, Cernăuți, Cetatea Albă, Dâmbovița, Ilfov, Ismail, Neamț, Prahova,

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

and

Tighina Bender (, Moldovan Cyrillic: Бендер) or Bendery (russian: Бендеры, , uk, Бендери), also known as Tighina ( ro, Tighina), is a city within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova under ''de facto'' control of the un ...

). '' Proletarul'' was the central press organ of the party. The Central Commission of Independent and United Trade Unions of Romania (''Comisia Centrală de independență și unificare sindicală din România'') functioned as the labour wing of the party.Litman Ghelerter.
Scrieri social-politice
'. Editura Politică, 1980. p. 93

United Front politics

The party called for a ' united proletarian action front' against

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

, but rejected collaboration with bourgeois parties. Whilst technically legal PSU faced repression from state authorities. In November 1934 the liberal government banned the independent

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

s linked with PSU.
Marisia
', Vol. 9. Muzeul, 1979. p. 529
Politics and Political Parties in Roumania, with 20 Photographs and Genealogical Tree
'. International reference library publishing Company, 1936. pp. 262-264 Thereafter PSU relied on its youth wing (United Socialist Youth Union, ''Uniunea Tineretului Socialist Unitar'') and women's wing (Labour Women's Union, ''Uniunea Femeilor Muncitoare'') for political mobilization.

Later period

Popovici was expelled in 1936, accused of being too close the Communist Party. After his expulsion from PSU, Popovici resurrected his Socialist Party. By 1936, PSU was severely weakened - following the Popovici split, repression and financial difficulties. A general assembly of party members was convened in Bucharest on 3 May 1936 to assess the situation of the party. On 6 May 1936 a call was issued to all local branches to increase activities.
Anale de istorie
', Vol. 29. Institutul de Studii Istorice și Social-Politice de pe lîngă C.C. al P.C.R., 1983. p. 79 During 1937 PSU and PSD moved closed towards each other. By April 1937 there were speculations in the press of a possible merger of the two parties. The decisive move towards merger had been the shifts in the PSD and CGM (trade union) leaderships, whereby those sectors that were open to collaboration with the Goga–Cuza government were purged. The 1937 electoral campaign further strengthened the move towards PSD–PSU unity, as the two parties contested jointly.Florea Nedelcu.
De la Restaurație la Dictatura regală: din viața politică a României, 1930-1938
'. Dacia, 1981. p. 216 The PSD–PSU list did not win any seats, however. By early 1938 the remaining PSU cadres joined PSD, albeit there was no formal merger ceremony between the two parties.

References

{{Historical Romanian political parties Defunct socialist parties in Romania Political parties established in 1933 Political parties disestablished in 1938 1933 establishments in Romania 1938 disestablishments in Romania International Revolutionary Marxist Centre