USR PLUS explained

USR PLUS
Colorcode:
  1. 00AAE7
Leader1 Title:Leaders
Leader1 Name:Dan Barna (USR)
Dacian Cioloș (PLUS)
Foundation:2 February 2019
Dissolved:16 April 2021
Successor:Save Romania Union
Position:Centre[1] [2]
European:Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party
Europarl:Renew Europe[3]
Colours: Blue
Orange
Slogan:Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: O Românie fără hoție (A Romania without thievery)
Blank1 Title:Constituent parties
Blank1:USR
PLUS
Country:Romania

USR PLUS was a Romanian progressive, liberal, and centrist political alliance active between 2019 and 2021. Established on 2 February 2019 solely as an electoral alliance between the political parties Save Romania Union (USR) and the Freedom, Unity and Solidarity Party (PLUS) it was initially called 2020 USR-PLUS Alliance (Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Alianța 2020 USR-PLUS). The alliance was formed to participate together in the May 2019 European Parliament election in Romania.[4]

Subsequently, the two parties decided to sign a protocol for a political alliance for the 2019 Romanian presidential election[5] [6] and for the 2020 local and legislative elections as well.

The alliance was dissolved when the two parties formally merged after a successful vote during an online congress on 15 August 2020 and the approval of this event by the Court of Appeal of Bucharest on 16 April 2021. Furthermore, the party celebrated in early October 2021 a new congress where Dacian Cioloș was elected to be the sole president of the party.[7] In the same congress, the 24 members of the party's National Political Bureau were elected and the congress voted to conserve Save Romania Union as the statutory name of the party, setting aside provisions in the merger protocol recommending that the name be changed to USR PLUS.[8] [9]

History

Dan Barna (USR) and Dacian Cioloș (PLUS), as leaders of the alliance, declared on 2 February 2019 that the two parties reached an agreement to participate jointly in European elections and that the project was a first step towards a possible success in the 2020 Romanian legislative election.[10] [11]

On 7 March 2019, the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) rejected the application for registration of the 2020 USR-PLUS Alliance for the European Parliament elections, motivating that Barna and Cioloș were not listed as presidents of the two parties in the Register of Political Parties.[12] Barna was elected president of the USR in October 2017, and Cioloș was elected president of the PLUS in February 2019. Both requested their registration as presidents at the Bucharest Tribunal, but until the Alliance's registration they did not receive a final decision.[13] Deputy Nicușor Dan, former president of the USR, declared that "I found, together with the legal team, the solution that would allow me to legally countersign the protocol of the USR-PLUS Alliance".[14] On March 8, the High Court of Cassation and Justice accepted USR-PLUS' appeal to the decision of the BEC to not to allow the alliance to be registered.[15] The alliance's chosen slogan used to be Fără hoție ajungem departe, meaning "Without thievery we go far" and referring to the existing corruption in Romania.[16] Nowadays, the slogan is O Românie fără hoție ("A Romania without thievery").[17]

On 15 August 2020, members of the USR and PLUS held an online congress to decide whether to formally unite the two parties or not, with 84.65% of the participants voting in favor of a merger. This new party would still be called USR (Save Romania Union) and would be led by Barna and Cioloș until a judicial decision on the merger was made; then, the party would be renamed to "USR PLUS".[18]

The parties, USR and PLUS, officially and legally merged into one single party on 16 April 2021 after the approval of this by the Court of Appeal of Bucharest.[19] In addition, the party was said to be preparing for a new congress, probably held in the autumn of 2021, to vote a single leadership, with Barna and Cioloș announcing that they would both participate in this vote.[7]

In early October 2021, Dacian Cioloș was elected president of the party in the congress.[20] Subsequently, the 24 members of the National Political Bureau were elected, while it was decided that the statutory name of the party remains Save Romania Union.

2019 European Parliament elections

See main article: 2019 European Parliament election in Romania. On 4 April 2019, the 2020 USR-PLUS Alliance presented, during a press conference, its party platform for the European Parliament elections.[21] The alliance's electoral offer covers four main subjects: "Justice and protection of the rights of the Romanians in the European Union", "welfare for society: health, education and anti-poverty measures", "European prosperity at home, in Romania", and "foreign and secure policy".[22] Among the promises of the alliance are the creation of an applicable European Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification, Romania's accession to the Schengen Area and changes in education, agriculture and infrastructure. The alliance also supports the Accession of Moldova to the European Union.[23]

On the occasion of the European Council meeting of May 9 in Sibiu, Romania, Ciolos had a meeting with Emmanuel Macron, President of France, focused on a discussion on the creation of a new political group in the European Parliament after the elections of May 26.[24]

During the political campaign, the alliance organized two major party rallies attended by both leaders of the alliance, one on May 5 in Cluj-Napoca[25] and the other one on May 12 in Timișoara.[26] The Bucharest rally of 24 May was also attended by Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the ALDE Group in the European Parliament, who announced the formation of a new Pro-European reformist center parliamentary group, together with the La République En Marche! of Emmanuel Macron.[27]

Electoral history

Legislative elections

ElectionChamberSenatePositionAftermath
Votes%SeatsVotes%Seats
2016did not exist1did not exist (2019)
(2019)
(2019–2020)
2020906,96215.37936,86215.86 (2020–2021)
Notes1

Local elections

!County!Election!Votes[28] !%!Councillors!+/-!Aftermath
Alba202013,9499.5 (#3) 4
Arad202020,71212.8 (#2) 5
Argeș202026,59410.7 (#3) 4
Bacău202061,62127.0 (#2)[29] [30] 3
Bihor20205,7412.3 (#5) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Bistrița-Năsăud20205,4764.4 (#4) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Botoșani20205,5393.6 (#5) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Brăila20205,8375.3 (#4) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Brașov202039,01319.3 (#3) 8
Bucharest2020175,95327.0 (#2) 2
Buzău202011,8666.6 (#4) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Călărași202046,932[31] 37.3[32] (#2) [33] 4
Caraș-Severin20206,2815.3 (#4) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Cluj202030,70112.2 (#3) 5
Constanța202034,89613.0 (#3) 5
Covasna20201,8362.7 (#9) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Dâmbovița20206,0542.9 (#5) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Dolj202017,5636.7 (#4) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Galați202011,8446.0 (#3) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Giurgiu20204,1943.4 (#5) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Gorj20206,3734.2 (#5) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Harghita20201,3301.3 (#7) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Hunedoara202012,9497.9 (#4)[34] 2
Ialomița20206,0965.7 (#4) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Iași202039,41614.6 (#3) 6
Ilfov202026,38914.5 (#2) 5
Maramureș202014,1437.7 (#4) 3
Mehedinți20202,8762.4 (#5) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Mureș20206,9083.4 (#6) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Neamț202019,56410.7 (#3) 4
Olt20205,0192.5 (#5) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Prahova2020131.17945.9 (#1)[35] 8
[36]
Sălaj20206,8517.0 (#4) 2
Satu Mare20207,0725.4 (#5) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Sibiu202015,57310.1 (#4) 4
Suceava202015,7516.2 (#4) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Teleorman20206,1433.8 (#3) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Timiș202055.15521.5 (#2) 10
[37]
Tulcea20205,2886.1 (#4) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Vâlcea20208,3195.2 (#4) 0align=center style="background:#ddd;"Extra-parliamentary
Vaslui202012,1408.4 (#4) 3
Vrancea202058.61041.0 (#2)[38] 5
City! rowspan="2"
MayorLocal Council
VotesPercentageCouncilSwingAftermath
Sector 1 (Bucharest)126.67530.0 (#2) 1
Sector 2 (Bucharest)133,14529.1 (#2) 4
Sector 3 (Bucharest)234,23625.7 (#1) 1
Sector 4 (Bucharest)228,99928.5 (#2) 3
Sector 5 (Bucharest)314,83816.5 (#3) 0
Sector 6 (Bucharest)130,65724.8 (#3) 1
Cluj-Napoca216,69117.1 (#2) 5
Timișoara137.97741.4 (#1) 13
Iași224,78529.0 (#2) 9
Brașov126,52532.7 (#1) 12
Constanța222,77323.9 (#2) 9

European Parliament elections

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ilie . Luiza . Romania coalition at risk after junior party pulls support for PM . Reuters . 2 September 2021.
  2. News: Rosca . Matei . 8 December 2020 . Romanian president sends general into uphill battle . Politico EU . 16 August 2023.
  3. News: Former Romanian PM considered for head of Renew group in EP. Romania Insider. 18 June 2019.
  4. News: USR a decis să participe împreună cu PLUS pe o listă comună la europarlamentare. Agerpres. 2 February 2019. ro.
  5. News: Cum merg negocierile între USR și PLUS. Alianță politică sau alianță electorală. Robert. Kiss. Digi24. 4 August 2019. ro.
  6. News: Comitetul politic al USR a decis: Alianța 2020 USR-PLUS va rămâne electorală și nu se va înscrie la tribunal cum au vrut liderii. Radio Europa Liberă România. 3 August 2019. ro.
  7. News: USR și PLUS au fuzionat. Decizia Curții de Apel București, definitivă. Noul partid se pregătește de Congres. Digi24. 16 April 2021. ro.
  8. Web site: Echipa Barna câștigă alegerile pentru Biroul Național al USR PLUS . Antena 3 . 3 October 2021 . 3 October 2021.
  9. Web site: USR PLUS revine la denumirea de USR şi la vechea siglă . stirileprotv.ro . 3 October 2021 . 3 October 2021.
  10. News: Cioloș și Barna anunță formarea "Alianței 2020 USR PLUS" pentru alegeri. HotNews. 2 February 2019. ro.
  11. News: Romania: 2019, tra inflazione ed elezioni. Mihaela. Iordache. Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa. 6 February 2019. it.
  12. News: BEC motivează de ce a respins cererea Alianței USR- PLUS pentru europarlamentare: Președinți sunt Nicușor Dan și Daneș Raluca. Mediafax. 7 March 2019. ro.
  13. News: Biroul Electoral Central anunță că Alianța 2020 USR PLUS nu poate merge la europarlamentare. EURACTIV. 7 March 2019. ro.
  14. News: Nicușor Dan: Am găsit soluția care să îmi permită să contrasemnez legal protocolul Alianței USR-PLUS. Agerpres. 7 March 2019. ro.
  15. News: Comunicat de presă - USR. Agerpres. 8 March 2019. ro.
  16. News: Campania electorală la români: agheasmă, mici și dans. Claudia. Pirvoiu. HotNews. 7 May 2019. ro.
  17. News: BEC a decis că Alianța USR-PLUS poate folosi sloganul "O Românie fără hoție". HotNews. 15 November 2020. ro.
  18. News: DOCUMENT Fuziunea dintre USR și PLUS a primit votul final din partea membrilor ambelor partide, reuniți în congres comun online: 84,65% au votat în favoarea fuziunii / Noul partid, care se va numi USR până la viitorul congres la care i se va schimba numele în USR PLUS, urmează să fie înregistrat la Tribunal. Matei. Alexandru. G4Media. 15 August 2020. ro.
  19. Web site: USR și PLUS au fuzionat. Decizia Curții de Apel București, definitivă. Noul partid se pregătește de Congres . 2022-01-01 . Digi24.
  20. Web site: Dacian Cioloș a fost ales președintele USR PLUS . Digi24 . 3 October 2021.
  21. News: USR și PLUS și-au prezentat obiectivele pentru europarlamentare. Ce promite Alianța 2020. HotNews. 4 April 2019. ro.
  22. News: USR-PLUS și-a anunțat obiectivele pentru Parlamentul European: modificarea legislației pe justiție. Adelina. Sahlean. Newsweek. 5 April 2019. ro.
  23. News: Alianța USR-PLUS și-a prezentat programul electoral: Ce își propune să facă dacă ajunge în Parlamentul European. Ziare.com. 4 April 2019. ro.
  24. News: Cioloş, întâlnire cu Macron la Sibiu: Ne-am concentrat asupra pregătirii viitorului grup proeuropean din viitorul Parlament. George Andrei. Cristescu. Adevărul. 9 May 2019. ro.
  25. News: Alianța 2020 USR PLUS a avut primul miting electoral. Sebastian. Rotaru. EURACTIV. 5 May 2019. ro.
  26. News: Alianța 2020 USR-PLUS organizează al doilea miting electoral, duminică, la Timișoara. Libertatea. 10 May 2019. ro.
  27. News:
    1. europarlamentare2019/Guy Verhofstadt, la mitingul Alianței 2020 USR PLUS: Vom crea o nouă mișcare în Europa
    . Agerpres. 24 May 2019. ro.
  28. Web site: ro. Rezultate alegeri.
  29. PNL–USR-PLUS
  30. 11/36 for the PNL–USR-PLUS alliance: PNL-8, USR PLUS-3
  31. PLUS run separately and won only 1,237 votes
  32. PNL–USR: 37.26%, PLUS: 0.98%
  33. 13/30 for the PNL–USR alliance: PNL-9, USR-4, PLUS-0
  34. USR: 5.95%, PLUS: 1.90%
  35. 17/36 for the PNL–USR-PLUS alliance: PNL-9, USR-PLUS-8
  36. Web site: Coaliţia stă pe un butoi de pulbere. Cătălin Drulă ştia de aparatura de înregistrare aflată în biroul său. ro. Adevărul. Ștefan Vlaston. 1 July 2021. 2 August 2021.
  37. News: Război total între USR PLUS şi PNL! Dominic Fritz îi spulberă pe liberalii din Timiş. Cum i-a putut numi pe "partenerii" din coaliţia de guvernare!. ro. Business Magazine. Redacția Business Magazine. 9 March 2021. 2 August 2021.
  38. The PNL–USR-PLUS alliance won 15 seats: PNL-9, USR-PLUS-5, Partida Rromilor-1