Democracy and Solidarity Party

For other uses, see Demos (disambiguation).
Democracy and Solidarity Party
Partidul Democrației și Solidarității
AbbreviationDemos
DEMOS
General SecretaryIonuț Tudor
SpokespersonNona Șerbănescu
Claudiu Crăciun
Founded1 September 2018
HeadquartersStelea Spătarul nr 13, Sector 3, Bucharest
Membership (2018)800[1]
Ideology
Political positionCentre-left[2] to left-wing[3]
National affiliationPlatform for Democracy, Prosperity, and Progress
European affiliationCentral-Eastern European Green Left Alliance
Website
demos.org.ro

The Democracy and Solidarity Party (Romanian: Partidul Democrației și Solidarității), also known by its abbreviation and short name Demos, is a political party of Romania. It was founded in 2018 (with roots going back to 2015), and holds a left-wing position.

History

The Democracy and Solidarity Party has its origins in the autumn of 2015 according to the party's website, which claims that Demos arose "in response to the need to organize the progressive forces, articulating a strong critique of the underdevelopment, inequality and division of the Romanian society". A manifesto published on 15 September 2016 formally created the political party.[4] It was officially registered as such in 1 September 2018.[5]

In the 2019 European elections, the party had initially planned to send 21 candidates, but only 16 showed up.[6] As a result, the party used intra-party deliberation to select a final shortlist of 12 candidates.[6][7] This process is thought to have improved the presence of women and ethnic minorities.[6]

On 24 September 2024, DEMOS, NOW and REPER announced an electoral alliance to contest the 2024 Romanian legislative election, the Platform for Democracy, Prosperity, and Progress.[8]

Ideology

Demos declares itself as a left-wing party.[9] It promotes elements such as equal opportunity and poverty reduction and condemns the injustice and the economic and social inequality that it claims to be present in the Romanian society.[10]

The party was critical towards other parties that governed Romania following the Romanian Revolution, most notably the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and National Liberal Party (PNL), which are considered by Demos as responsible for the "enlargement of the economic inequalities and increasing social division" of the country.[11] Demos considers itself the only "real" left-wing party in Romania, opposing the PSD, which Demos members accuse of not being true to the leftist ideology and deem it as "the enemy of the left".[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Un nou partid pe scena politică". Digi24 (in Romanian). 19 September 2018.
  2. ^ https://buletin.de/bucuresti/interviu-mai-exista-demos-claudiu-craciun-si-ionut-tudor-despre-posibila-candidatura-a-stangii-progresiste-la-cgmb/
  3. ^ https://www.vice.com/ro/article/3kgq3w/cat-de-radical-e-demos
  4. ^ "Alegeri locale 2020. Partidele nou înființate care și-au trimis candidații în lupta electorală, la scrutinul din 27 septembrie". Digi24 (in Romanian). 10 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Partid nou pe scena politică: Demos a fost înregistrat oficial". HotNews (in Romanian). 3 September 2018.
  6. ^ a b c Stoiciu, Victoria; Gherghina, Sergiu (May 2021). "Intra-Party Deliberation, Under-Represented Groups, and Candidate Selection: The Case of Demos in Romania". Political Studies Review. 19 (2): 179–185. doi:10.1177/1478929920939818. ISSN 1478-9299.
  7. ^ Redacția (31 January 2019). "Partidul Democraţiei şi Solidarităţii - Demos a prezentat lista candidaţilor pentru PE: "Candidaţii provin din familii cu dificultăţi materiale şi cu o înţelegere mai bună a cetăţenilor"". G4Media.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  8. ^ Roman, Mihai (24 September 2024). "REPER anunță liste comune cu partidul de stânga DEMOS și cu candidați independenți". G4Media.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Partidul Democrației și Solidarității - Demos și-a prezentat lista candidațior pentru PE. Scopul partidului: Să ducem în Parlamentul European vocile celor marginalizați". HotNews (in Romanian). 31 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Scena politică românească are un nou partid politic: Partidul Democrației și Solidarității". psnews.ro (in Romanian). 3 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Partidul DEMOS, de stânga, s-a lansat oficial. Co-președinți sunt Diana Mărgărit și Claudiu Turcuș, secretarul general e Claudiu Crăciun". G4 Media (in Romanian). 19 September 2018.