Party of Free Change
Party of Free Change Partidul Liber-Schimbist | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | PLS |
| Founder | Octavian Andronic |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Dissolved | 1996 |
| Ideology | satire |
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Romania |
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The Party of Free Change (Romanian: Partidul Liber-Schimbist, PLS) was a satirical political party in Romania.
History
The party was founded in 1990 by Octavian Andronic, adopting the name "Partidul Liber-Schimbist"; "liber schimbist" being a double entendre used by Ion Luca Caragiale in his comedy O scrisoare pierdută. One of the key characters, Nae Caţavencu, declares himself a "liber-schimbist", which in literal translation means "a supporter of free trade", but can be equally interpreted as "free changer", or rather "easy changer" - one who changes views or convictions easily, without scruples. One of the main principles of the party was granting the status of honorary membership to anyone who changed their allegiance from one political party to another.
In the 1990 general elections the party received around 0.3% of the vote in both the Chamber of Deputies and Senate elections. Although it failed to win a seat in the Senate, it won a single seat in the Chamber,[1] taken by Stefan Cazimir. Cazimir later defected to the Social Democratic Party in 1992, and in the elections that year the party's vote share fell to 0.1%, resulting in it losing its single seat.[2]
The party was disbanded in 1996 when new rules required that any party should have at least 10,000 members.
Electoral results
| Election | Chamber of Deputies | Senate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |
| 1990 | 47,017 | 0.34 | 1 | 46,247 | 0.33 | 0 |
| 1992 | 12,456 | 0.11 | 0 | |||
References
- ↑ 1990 Parliamentary Elections: Chamber of Deputies University of Essex
- ↑ 1992 Parliamentary Elections: Chamber of Deputies University of Essex
External links
- Partidul Liber Schimbist Romanian Chamber of Deputies