The People's Party (Romanian: Partidul Poporului, PP), originally People's League (Liga Poporului), was an eclectic, essentially populist, mass movement in Romania. Created by World War I hero Alexandru Averescu, it identified itself with the new politics of "Greater Romania" period, and existed for almost as long as Greater Romania did. The PP broke with the antiquated two-party system, creating a wide coalition of lobbies, and advertised itself as the new challenge to the National Liberal Party (PNL). The group was held together by Averescu's charisma, and was popularly known as partidul averescan, "the Averescan party".

In its early years, the League brought together members of the moribund Conservative Party and social reformers of diverse backgrounds, and secured for itself the votes of poor peasants and demobilized soldiers. Its platform appealed to antisemites and Jews, social liberals and fascists, loyalists and republicans. Averescu's doubts about staging a revolution, and to some degree the Averescans' rejection of political radicalism, meant that the League was pushed into a partnership with the PNL. Averescu's rise to power was confirmed in the 1920 election and then by his heavy-handed approach to labor unrest. The government initiated sweeping reforms, but was brought down when it rebelled against the PNL's paternalism.

Victorious in the 1926 election, the PP became a direct opponent of the National Peasants' Party, and lost the PNL's tactical support. It failed to regroup itself and, in 1932, was divided in half—its radical wing having become the National Agrarian Party. The PP continued as a marginal presence in political life, steadily losing votes to the fascist and antisemitic parties. It was officially dissolved along with all other democratic parties in early 1938, by which time it had been forced to register Averescu's own resignation.

History

Origins

Averscan populism had its roots firmly planted in the troubled years of World War I, and was a direct answer to the military disaster of 1917. In summer 1916, keeping up with the orthodox irredentist ("Greater Romanian") agenda, a PNL-governed Romania had joined the Entente Powers. The general mood was one of romantic optimism, which cast away Romania's endemic social problems, including the stringent issues of electoral and land reform: the majority of Romanian conscripts were landless peasants, rendered politically marginal by the census suffrage.Veiga, p.17-19, 20-29

Although "Greater Romanian" plans were already in circulation, the "Old Kingdom" found itself tackled by social conflicts. Tensions exploded with the 1907 Peasants' Revolt, when General Averescu was called on by the PNL to organize the violent repression. This incident was later invoked against his claim to represent the interests of Romanian peasants. Gheorghe I. Florescu, "Alexandru Averescu, omul politic (I)", in Convorbiri Literare, May 2009Gheorghe I. Florescu, "Alexandru Averescu, omul politic (XII)" , in Convorbiri Literare, May 2010Veiga, p.46 It was also the start of a bitter rivalry between Averescu and the PNL Prime Minister, Ion I. C. Brătianu. From 1918 to 1927, their problematic relationship was to be a national affair, affecting the course of Romanian politics. As historian Gheorghe I. Florescu writes, in the course of it Brătianu went from a "manic" mistrust of Averescu to a more benevolent arrogance.

Between 1907 and the entry into the world war, the PNL governments had been under pressure to generate a feasible land reform project.Veiga, p.26, 31-32 Even more reluctant, the opposition Conservatives became split into factions: the traditional wing, led by Alexandru Marghiloman, was "Germanophile", and reserved about the "Greater Romania" project; the Conservative-Democratic Party, under Take Ionescu, had a history of cooperation with the PNL, and gave full endorsement to the Entente.Boia (2010), passim; Veiga, p.31-34 Before the war, Averescu tended to support the Conservative side, gravitating between Marghiloman and Ionescu.

The 1916 attempt to swiftly conquer Transylvania and Bukovina from Austria-Hungary was unsuccessful, and Romania found herself invaded by the Central Powers. Supported by the Russian Empire, the Romanian authorities only held on to the easternmost area, Moldavia, and it was there that General Averescu helped organize a territorial defense. The death toll became massive: by 1919, perhaps one tenth of Romania's population had been lost to the war.Veiga, p.19, 37 King Ferdinand I, the PNL government, and some of the opposition were in consensus about keeping up resistance. Visiting his peasant troops in April 1917, Ferdinand issued a formal promise of land reform, and hinted that some political reform was also being considered.Veiga, p.20-23, 34

However, the February Revolution in Russia dealt a serious blow to military cooperation in Moldavia—Russia's Provisional Government was largely unable to control its military.Gheorghe & Șerbu, p.183-184; Veiga, p.19, 21 The October Revolution, and then the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, left Romania without allied support, a passive witness to the Russian Civil War. Faced with the prospect of an all-out Central Powers' offensive in Moldavia, Ferdinand made Averescu his prime minister. To the PNL, he was an enigma: some perceived him as a dangerous pacifist, a Conservative, or an "undertaker" of the historic parties; others believed him a convenient figurehead, who diverted attention from Brătianu's maneuvering. He was expected to negotiate a dignified peace between Romania and her enemies, but was unable to obtain the necessary consensus, and handed in his resignation; a Conservative and "Germanophile" government was sworn in, and its leader Marghiloman sealed the Peace of Buftea-Bucharest, noted for its demeaning concessions to the Central Powers.Boia (2010), p.48-51; Gheorghe & Șerbu, p.164 Gheorghe I. Florescu, "Alexandru Averescu, omul politic (II)", in Convorbiri Literare, June 2009Veiga, p.19, 33-34, 37

Creating the League

Ruling over a vaguely defined Romanian territory, the Marghiloman cabinet took it upon itself to carry out the reforms. In a mood of general hostility toward the PNL, it focused on dismantling the National Liberal institutions, promising to build the country on new foundations.Boia (2010), p.48-52, 127-130, 251, 259-260, 277, 284, 311, 322-323, 331; Veiga, p.34

It was in this climate that Averescu created his People's League, on April 3, 1918. Its nucleus was a personal association between Averescu and the Conservative dissenters Constantin Argetoianu and Matei Cantacuzino. The association was formed at Cantacuzino's townhouse in Iași, and also counted among its founding members the Conservatives Duiliu Zamfirescu, Constantin C. Arion and Grigore Filipescu, soldiers Grigore C. Crăiniceanu, Sebastian S. Eustatziu and Gheorghe Văleanu, and political philosopher P. P. Negulescu.Zamfirescu & Adam, p.25-26 Through the affiliations of Negulescu and Ion Petrovici, the League established a connection with the doctrines of Old Kingdom liberal conservatism, as codified in the 19th century by philosopher Titu Maiorescu.Drăghicescu, p.62-63

In occupied Bucharest, the People's League was supported by a parallel "League of Common Good", founded by physicist Enric Otetelișanu.Emanoil Bucuța, "Institutul Social Român", in Boabe de Grâu, August–September 1931, p.369 He later helped set up Averescan clubs in northern Muntenia.Simion, "Alegerile parlamentare din anul 1920...", p.162 On the left side, the early League incorporated a Moldavian radical-left wing, or "Labor Party", represented by Grigore Trancu-Iași and other activists.Petrescu, p.312-313 From the very first moment, the Averescans were joined by a splinter group of the Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), whose leader was a Moldavian academic, A. C. Cuza. The PND was a nationwide antisemitic movement founded by historian Nicolae Iorga, and Cuza's men had always been its racist wing, called "grotesque" and "obsessive" by Veiga.Veiga, p.55-56, 62, 69 Divided over this issue, but also over war-era policies, the two PND leaders were avoiding each other in 1918; Cuza, Ion Zelea Codreanu and Corneliu Șumuleanu effectively organized a PND schism by signing their adhesion to the League.Bozdoghină (2003), p.70-72, 74

The PNL's ruin offered a chance to other anti-systemic, radically reformist, political forces. One of them was the Peasants' Party (PȚ), led by schoolteacher Ion Mihalache. Although the League and PȚ would eventually compete with one another, and divide between them the "Labor Party",Petrescu, p.313 they were, according to political scientist Ionuț Ciobanu, created in the same mold. Ionuț Ciobanu, "Structura organizatorică a Partidului Țăranesc și a Partidului Național " , in Sfera Politicii, Nr. 129-130

Eventually, the League adopted an anti-PNL platform promising full reforms, including universal male suffrage. The more innovative point among these was a commitment to punishing those guilty of "abuse and mistakes", a barely disguised reference to Brătianu's policies. Lavinia Vlădilă, "Partidele politice în primii ani interbelici (II)", in the Valahia University of Târgoviște Law Study, Nr. 1/2011 It ran under this platform in the 1918 election, without impressing the voters.Simion, "Alegerile parlamentare din anul 1919...", p.142 The suffrage was more of a personal triumph for Averescu, who joined the Assembly of Deputies as a progressive, watching over the government's fulfillment of reforms, and denouncing the peace agreements; he envisioned an alliance with the PNL, but asked for Brătianu to renounce the party presidency. He also submitted the League to his personal authority: in October 1918, he forced Grigore Filipescu out of the party, accusing him of factionalism. Two months later, Cuza and his men returned to the PND, but, to Iorga's irritation, continued to cooperate closely with the Averescan movement.Bozdoghină (2003), p.72

The Marghiloman project came to an abrupt halt in November 1918, when the Armistice with Germany spelled out a world victory for the Entente forces, and opened new prospects for the union with Transylvania. The PNL was swiftly returned to power by King Ferdinand, but the political turmoil required emergency apolitical rule, and General Artur Văitoianu took over as prime minister.Simion, "Alegerile parlamentare din anul 1919...", p.139-141; Veiga, p.35

1919 elections

Văitoianu's favoritism of the PNL, and his fear of left-wing rebellion, sparked a conflict between government and the recently founded Socialist Party of Romania (PS). For a while, the anti-PNL Averescans and Conservative-Democrats (the "United Opposition") even negotiated with the PS leaders for a common boycott of the coming election.Simion, "Alegerile parlamentare din anul 1919...", p.141-142. See also Drăghicescu, p.63, 64; Radu (2003), p.74 These negotiations opened the door to other common projects: Argetoianu and Văleanu were especially close to the PS' republican platform, while the general favored a crowned republic.Petrescu, p.313. See also Zamfirescu & Adam, p.129 Snubbed by the returning king and by Brătianu (though received with sympathy by Queen Marie), Averescu warned that a "revolution" was inevitable. He was bluffing, but the statements he issued managed to unnerve the PNL leadership.