What is Left from Democracy? Electoralism and Populism in Romania

Abstract

What l shall present in my paper is the relation between the frequency of the electoral cycles as well as the redistribution policies, and the increase of populism. The density of the electoral cycles and the populist redistribution policies as bribes for the poor, but numerous electorates, has turned the electoral component of democrat in an end in itself. Politicians are focused on wining the elections, not in strategic governing and even less in consolidating democracy, even just a liberal one as it became before EU accession. The most popular enemy during the electoral campaign is corruption and because its form is “state capture”, the fight against it is just populist arid endless in terms of campaign and tends to be authoritarian in terms of government. With such threats we can see Romania and other new EU member states apparently as suicidal democracies due to the weak institutionalization of the democratic mechanisms. In the times of “democratic recession”. EU protectorate is keeping its member states within a safety net which is blocking the suicidal attitudes and tolerates its new (sometimes even old) members rather as jawed democracies.