The Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party ( ro, Partidul Național Țărănesc Creștin Democrat, officially abbreviated PNȚCD) is a

Christian democratic Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democrati ...

and agrarian

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. It claims to be the rightful successor of the interwar '' National Peasants' Party'' (PNȚ), created from the merger of the Romanian National Party (PNR) from the then Austro-Hungarian-ruled

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

and the Peasants' Party (PȚ) from the Romanian Old Kingdom. PNȚCD was the largest and most important political party of the Romanian Democratic Convention ( ro, Convenția Democrată Română, CDR) during the 1990s and was led by Corneliu Coposu and

Ion Diaconescu Ion Diaconescu (; 25 August 1917 – 11 October 2011) was a Romanian anti-Communist activist and politician. He was imprisoned as a political prisoner for seventeen years from 1947 to 1964 during Romania's Communist era. Diaconescu later becam ...

, two former political prisoners during

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

, but as the 2000s began it gradually feel out of grace amongst

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

Romanian voters and slowly became an inactive

microparty Microparty, micro-party, or micro party is a term, sometimes pejorative, for a small political party that doesn't attract enough votes to be elected to a legislature in its own right. The term is most commonly used in Australia where the combinatio ...

. The party was subsequently excluded from the

European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily ...

(EPP) in June 2017. Eventually, it joined the

European Christian Political Movement The European Christian Political Movement (ECPM) is the only European political party explicitly working on promoting Christian values. The party unites national parties and individuals from across Europe who share policies influenced by Chri ...

(ECPM) in February 2020. Given a tremendous disdain and resentment towards Pavelescu's leadership (the incumbent party president since 2011 onwards), another Christian peasant group known as the National Peasant Alliance ( ro, Alianța Național Țărăniștă - Țărăniștii, ANȚ) seceded from the main PNȚCD in 2019 (which, according to them and their electoral basin, greatly drifted from its original ideology) and centered around leader Radu Ghidău (one of the youngest PNȚCD MPs during the legislature of the late 1990s, more specifically the one spanning over 1996–2000) for the 2020 Romanian local elections.

History

1989–1992

The Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party was (re)-founded by Corneliu Coposu, Ioan Alexandru, and

Ion Rațiu Ion Rațiu (; 6 June 1917 – 17 January 2000) was a Romanian lawyer, diplomat, journalist, businessman, writer, and politician as well as the official presidential candidate of the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party (PNȚ-CD) in the 1 ...

in December 1989, being thus the first officially registered political party after the fall of Communism. The party competed in the 1990 elections, where it ranked 4th with 2.5% (or 348,637 votes) and supported Ion Rațiu for president. The PNȚCD presidential candidate ranked 3rd, with 4.3% (or 617,007 votes). Given the political dominance of the National Salvation Front (FSN) that was exerted prior and after the first free elections in post-1989 Romania, the PNȚCD decided to form a consistent alliance of centre-right parties aiming mainly to oppose it. As a result, in 1991, most notably alongside the National Liberal Party (but also with other noteworthy civic organisations, foundations, and minor additional right-leaning political parties), the PNȚCD formed the Romanian Democratic Convention (CDR). Eventually, the PNȚCD would affirm itself as the most dominant internal political force for much of the convention's existence. For the period 1990–1992, PNȚCD was one of the main opposition parties.

1992–1996

At the 1992 elections, the party ran on a common CDR list (along with other allied parties within the convention) and supported the candidacy of

Emil Constantinescu Emil Constantinescu () (born 19 November 1939) is a Romanian professor and politician, who served as the President of Romania, from 1996 to 2000. After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, Constantinescu became a founding member and vice president ...

as President of Romania. Consequently, the CDR ranked 2nd, having scored 20.16% (or 2,210,722 votes), while Emil Constantinescu managed to qualify in the second round of the presidential election where he finished second with 38.57% (or 4,641,207 votes). For the period 1992–1996, the party was the main opposition force in the

Parliament of Romania The Parliament of Romania ( ro, Parlamentul României) is the national Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Romania, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania), Chamber of Deputies ( ro, Camera Deputaților) and the Senate of Romania, Sen ...

1996–2000

At the 1996 elections, CDR managed to rank 1st, with 30.70% (or 3,772,084 votes), and once again supported the candidacy of Emil Constantinescu, who also managed to win the presidency with 54.41% (or 7,057,906 votes). For the period 1996–2000, PNȚCD was the most important governing party within the CDR, being also part of a grand coalition which included the Democratic Party (PD) and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ). At the 2000 elections, PNȚCD ran on a common CDR 2000 list and scored 5.30% (or 575,706 votes), being unable to pass the electoral threshold required for an alliance. This weak electoral result was primarily owed to the fragmentation of the alliance and the scission of the Romanian right into several other parties as well as to the tumultuous previous governing term. For the period 2000–2004, PNȚCD was in extra-parliamentary opposition.

2004–2008

At the

2004 elections 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

, PNȚCD ran independently, having obtained 1.9% (or 196,027 votes), failing this time as well to surpass the needed electoral threshold. The party supported the presidential candidacy of Gheorghe Ciuhandu, former mayor of Timișoara. Ciuhandu eventually ranked 5th in the first round, with 1.9% (or 198,394 votes). In March 2005, PNȚCD voted to change its name to the Christian Democratic People's Party ( ro, Partidul Popular Creștin-Democrat, ''PPCD'') after the unification with the Union for Romanian Reconstruction. Eventually, it returned to its original name (PNȚCD). The party did not compete in the 2008 legislative elections. Afterwards, the party was split between a wing sustained by Marian Petre Miluț supporting Aurelian Pavelescu as president (who decided on an alliance with the then governing Democratic Liberal Party, PDL) and one supporting former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

and Bucharest mayor Victor Ciorbea as president (who, at that time, favoured an alliance with the National Liberal Party).

2011–present

Victor Ciorbea was elected on 18 June 2011 president of the party. In September 2011, the Bucharest Courthouse (responsible for the parties registry) recognised Victor Ciorbea as party president. Nonetheless, the split continued until Ciorbea left the party (until October 2012 namely) in order to become a senator on PNL's lists. Pavelescu was subsequently recognised as president and the fractions were dissolved. For the 2012 legislative elections, PNȚCD ran on a common

Right Romania Alliance The Right Romania Alliance ( ro, Alianţa România Dreaptă, ARD, also translating to "Just Romania Alliance") was a Romanian electoral alliance formed between the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL), the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party ...

(ARD), along with the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL), and the Civic Force (FC). The party won one senator seat and one deputy seat. On 23 April 2013, Pavelescu was elected president of the party. At the

2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union, from 22 to 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candid ...

, the party gained only 0.89% of the cast votes, with candidates like former EP member Sebastian Bodu and the current party president, Aurelian Pavelescu, opening the list. Following the

2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held between 23 and 26 May 2019, the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent more than 512 million peop ...

and thanks to an agreement between the party and the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(PSD), the party has 1 MEP, more specifically Cristian Terheș. For the

2019 Romanian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Romania on 10 November 2019, with a second round held on 24 November 2019. Incumbent President of Romania Klaus Iohannis, first elected in 2014, was eligible for re-election. He defeated Viorica Dăncilă in the ...

, the party did not compete but endorsed PSD candidate Viorica Dăncilă. Furthermore, the party did not compete for the

2020 Romanian legislative election Legislative elections were held in Romania on 6 December 2020 to elect the 136 members of the Senate and the 330 constituent members of the Chamber of Deputies. While the Social Democratic Party (PSD) remained the largest political party in th ...

but it did compete for the 2020 Romanian local elections, where it won 1 mayor and 42 local councillors.

Motto

Its motto as of 2006 was ''Fiecare contează'' (''Each one counts''). At the 2014 EU elections, PNȚCD's motto was ''Renaștem pentru România ta!'' (''Reborn for your Romania!'').

Ideology

The PNȚCD is an agrarian,

, and Christian humanist political party that stands for "social justice, Christian morality and enlightened patriotism." The party is

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

and supports de-Sovietization within Romania. It supports the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt ...

in conjunction with the Romanian constitution and seeks to protect the cultural and traditional rights of all Romanian people. It also claims to support equal opportunities for all Romanians, uphold rule of law, defends the right to private property ownership, and calls for economic reform to stimulate the Romanian economy. Internationally, the party is a member of Centrist Democrat International (CDI) along with other Christian democratic and conservative movements and was affiliated with the

(EPP) in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

before joining the

European Conservatives and Reformists The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) is a soft Eurosceptic, anti- federalist political group of the European Parliament. The ECR is the parliamentary group of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party) European ...

(ECR) group.

Electoral history

Legislative elections

Notes: ¹ CDR members in 1992: PNȚCD,

PAC Pac or PAC may refer to: Military * Rapid Deployment Force (Malaysia), an armed forces unit * Patriot Advanced Capability, of the MIM-104 Patriot missile * Civil Defense Patrols (''Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil''), Guatemalan militia and paramil ...

(7 senators and 13 deputies), PNL-AT (1 senator and 11 deputies), PSDR (1 senator and 10 deputies), PNL-CD (4 senators and 3 deputies), and PER (no senators and 4 deputies).
² CDR members in 1996: PNȚCD, PNL (22 senators and 28 deputies), PNL-CD (1 senator and 4 deputies), PAR (3 senators and 3 deputies), PER (1 senator and 5 deputies), and Ecologist Federation of Romania (FER - 1 senator and 1 deputy).
³ CDR 2000 members: PNȚCD, UFD, Ecologist Federation of Romania (FER), National Christian Democratic Alliance (ANCD), and The Moldavians' Party (PM).
⁴ PNȚCD competed on PNL lists.
⁵

(ARD) members:

PDL PDL is an initialism for: Politics * Democratic Liberal Party (''Partidul Democrat Liberal''), a former political party in Romania *Labour Democratic Party (''Partito Democratico del Lavoro''), a former political party in Italy *Pole of Freedom ...

(22 senators and 52 deputies), FC (1 senators and 3 deputies), and PNȚCD.

Presidential elections

Notes: ¹ Emil Constantinescu was the common centre-right candidate who was endorsed by the PNȚCD in both 1992 and 1996 as part of the larger Romanian Democratic Convention (CDR).
² Mugur Isărescu was endorsed by the PNȚCD at the 2000 elections as part of the Romanian Democratic Convention 2000 (CDR 2000) alliance.
³ Electoral protocol endorsing Traian Băsescu, the candidate of the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL), due to a decision enforced by the then official fraction of the PNȚCD led by Marian Petre Miluț.
⁴ Elena Udrea was endorsed by the People's Movement Party (PMP)-PNȚCD alliance at the 2014 Romanian presidential election.
⁵ Electoral protocol endorsing Viorica Dăncilă, the candidate of the

(PSD).

European elections

Notes: ¹ Electoral protocol endorsing the