Berkeley Program in Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies

This paper analyzes the reasons for the clear victory of the leftist Party of Social Democracy (PDSR) and its presidential candidate, Ion Iliescu in the 2000 Romanian elections, as well as the strong showing of the extremist Greater Romania Party (PRM) and its leader Corneliu Vadim Tudor. Based on an analysis of voter surveys, the paper argues that the rise of the extreme right does not reflect a radicalization of the Romanian electorate but rather a protest vote against the perceived corruption and incompetence of the country's political elite in the last decade. The paper concludes with implications for the future of democracy in the former communist countries in and around the region.