An undistinguished society

Romania is not an exceptional country. Not even when it goes to vote. Throughout the world, in New and Old European Countries, long before being a government and parliament training platform, elections are a form of knowledge. By voting, citizens give a synthesized picture of the country they are a part of, a picture that no social science can implement through its academic practices. Suffrage is an occasion to understand the values and the topics which lie at the centre of societies’ organization, which are the prevailing and most significant traits of a small-scale political self-portrait. On November 25 Romanian citizens were given the opportunity of knowing themselves better and acquired greater knowledge on the State which governs them also in an EU framework. Just like national elections three years ago, also euro-parliament elections testified to the nature and the consistency of the Romanian State. At this point it is worthwhile noting that the State of Romania still doesn’s know how to count. The Ministry of Interiors put 18.267.634 citizens with a right to vote on its electoral roll while the National Statistics Office claimed that the official number of electors is 17.396.549. The difference between the two numbers is the same as the result of the candidate which came second in the elections, the Social Democratic Party which gained 22% of votes. Even though it’s unable to count the exact number of its citizens, Romania displayed its deep concern for Romanian immigrants in Italy, Spain, France and the United States, which amount to 3 million citizens. Considered a first-rank electoral resource, 200 voting centres were purposely created for them throughout the 5 continents. However, only a few thousand showed up to vote, which shows they have a very weak tie with their country of origin. Only 29% of Romanian citizens decided to contribute to the political national and European collective portrait. Over 50%, according to sociological surveys carried out during voting procedures, have a precarious social capital: men over 50 years-old with primary-level education. The typical Romanian elector is poorly literate. The most dynamic areas of the country, Bucarest, Prahova, Timis, where unemployment is low and the active population rate is high, registered the lowest voting percentage. In Europe’s Romania politics appears to be the concern of those who are not yet actively present on the market. Those who express themselves politically through voting don’t do so to criticize the political system. The Socialist Alliance Party affiliated to the European Left-wing family gained less than 0.5% and none of the two traditionally right-wing parties exceeded the 5% limit. The highest number of votes (30%) were gained by the party of President Basescu, and organization lacking all forms of ideology and with no other conviction other than success in business and public affairs. This might mean that those Romanians who did vote were motivated by the hope that they will no longer be entitled to do so in the future. The 25 November elections did not establish a distinction between right and the left, rather they portrayed an undistinguished society marked by a-political stands. The implications of this situation in EU membership need no further remark.