The political parties in Romania must adopt radical measures to regain the trust of the citizens. Analysts pinpoint the root causes of the current crisis and propose urgent solutions to combat disinformation and internal divisions.
Romanians no longer trust political parties Photo: Archive
Why did they lose the trust of the citizens?
Adrian Zăbava believes that regaining citizens’ trust in political parties is a long-term process, and in the context of the 2024 elections, solutions cannot come overnight. “If we are talking about regaining people’s trust in the perspective of the presidential elections, time is extremely short, we cannot think of such a thingZăbău declared.
According to him, the loss of trust was a long process and the remedy cannot be done quickly. “Romanian political parties have lost the trust of Romanians over several decades, this cannot be fixed overnight, it will be a long road, if it ever happens, and an extremely complicated one,Zăbava added.
Valeriu Turcan emphasizes that in order to correctly understand the crisis of confidence, political parties must adopt an honest and professional analysis of the causes for which citizens voted negatively. “First, to try to analyze it honestly and professionally about the causes of the negative vote. Not to assume and not to draw conclusions based on personal perceptions and interpretations,” says Turcan, insisting that a deep understanding of political and social realities is essential to formulating effective solutions.
He draws attention to a frequently encountered phenomenon: the falsification of results and internal analyses. “All parties claim to be doing an audit, in fact no one is doing anything,” he adds, stressing that these superficial measures will not lead to any real change. In addition, the analyst draws attention to some deep causes that relate not only to communication and strategy, but also to corruption within the parties. “The causes are much deeper and some relate to party corruption, others to communication, others to strategy,” says the specialist.
In parallel, Cristian Pîrvulescu adds another dimension to the problem: the hybrid war and the impact of disinformation. “Hybrid warfare has been meticulously waged for more than a decade,” states Pîrvulescu, explaining that misinformation and manipulation through social networks had a devastating impact on citizens’ trust in politics. “We are in the midst of a hate pandemic on TikTok and other social networks,” he adds, emphasizing the radicalization of citizens and the dangers stemming from the fact that parties have not managed this issue seriously. “Trust doesn’t grow overnight,” adds the analyst, stressing that it is essential that politicians adopt concrete measures to combat disinformation.
What measures are needed for recovery?
Adrian Zăbău believes that political parties must adopt a realistic approach and not superficial solutions in order to regain the trust of citizens.
“The only option by which this would marginally happen in such a short time would be to identify a candidate or candidates who would come to meet the popular needs to some extent, but we all know that does not appear Do- Beautiful overnight,” says Zăbău, emphasizing that the process of restoring confidence will be a long-lasting one. He adds that measures must be based on realities on the ground, and quick and superficial solutions will only delay essential reforms.
Turcan claims that restoring confidence cannot be done through superficial measures, but only through a fair audit and deep reform. “Without an audit done by the book, you can always repeat what happened in the first round,” warns Turcan, indicating that the parties must analyze the reality on the ground and stop adopting easy solutions that only postpone the necessary changes. In this sense, Turcan emphasizes that any reform must start from an authentic understanding of the causes that led to the loss of trust.
Pîrvulescu adds another essential element: combating disinformation and external manipulation. “We have to put out the fire, and then figure out how we can do it,” he says, explaining that it is now essential that political parties recognize the seriousness of the phenomenon of social media radicalization and adopt measures to protect society from its effects. In this context, Pîrvulescu calls for collective responsibility: “It is an enterprise of all of us, it is no longer of the politicians”, emphasizing that the solutions must be collective and involve the whole society.
Internal problems: corruption and miscommunication
Turcan believes that it is not enough for the parties to do only a technical audit. “The causes are much deeper and some are related to corruption in PARTIES,” he explained. Also, the parties’ poor communication and the lack of a coherent strategy contribute to maintaining a negative image in front of the public. “Parties must truly understand the causes that led to the loss of confidence and adopt measures based on reality, not on political illusions,says Turcan.
At the same time, Pîrvulescu draws attention to another fundamental aspect: politics must respond to the real needs of citizens, and the division of society into polarized groups is a danger that must be countered. “We need to identify social groups with whom we can engage in dialogue,” adds Pîrvulescu, stressing the importance of a real and authentic dialogue between political parties and citizens.
A call for reform and collective responsibility
Adrian Zăbău concludes by emphasizing that the process of regaining the trust of the citizens will be a long-term one, in which the parties must adopt fundamental measures and not quick or populist solutions. “Romanian political parties must understand that the reforms must be deeply integrated and not look for momentary solutions that only postpone the problems,” says Zăbău.
In the same sense, Valeriu Turcan and Cristian Pîrvulescu agree that solutions must involve deep reforms and a change in the way parties interact with citizens. “Political parties must reform themselves and build a long-term vision,” states Turcan, while Pîrvulescu concludes with a call for joint action: “This country is not the politicians’, not Iohannis’s, Ciolacu’s or Bolojan’s, it is our country.“
