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TheSocial Democratic Party (Romanian:Partidul Social Democrat,PSD) is the largest political party inRomania. It is also the largestsocial democratic[8]political party in the country. It was founded byIon Iliescu,Romania's first democratically elected president at the1990 Romanian general election.[9][10][11][12][13]
It is a member of theProgressive Alliance (PA), which was founded in 2013,[14]Socialist International (SI),[15] and theParty of European Socialists (PES).[16] As of 2015, the PSD had 530,000 members.[17][needs update]
PSD traces its origins to theDemocratic National Salvation Front (FDSN), a leftist breakaway group established in 1992 from the centre-leftNational Salvation Front (FSN) established after 1989. In 1993, this merged with three other parties to become theParty of Social Democracy in Romania (Romanian:Partidul Democrației Sociale in România,PDSR), also translated as theSocial Democracy Party of Romania.[18][19] The present name was adopted after a merger with the smallerRomanian Social Democratic Party (PSDR) in 2001.[20]
Since its formation, it has always been one of the two dominant parties of the country. The PDSR governed Romania from 1992 to 1996, while the PSDR was a junior coalition partner between 1996 and 2000. The merged PSD was the senior party in the coalitions governing from 2000 to 2004, and from March 2014 to November 2015, as well as one of the main coalition partners between December 2008 and October 2009 (with theDemocratic Liberal Party, PDL) and again between May 2012 and March 2014 (as part of theSocial Liberal Union, USL). PSD left government after former prime minister,Victor Ponta resigned in November 2015, only for PSD to return as the senior governing party in January 2017, shortly after it achieved a major victory in the2016 Romanian legislative election. The party remained in power at governmental level until 2019, before being voted down in the parliament and then endorsing a PNL minority government between 2019 and 2020. Subsequently, it entered opposition between 2020 and 2021, before eventually returning to government within the CNR coalition in late 2021.
Party founderIon Iliescu is the only PSD candidate to becomePresident of Romania, he served in office from the 1989 to 1996, and again from 2000 to 2004.
Currently, PSD remains the largest party in theParliament of Romania with initially 36 seats in theSenate of Romania and 86 seats in theChamber of Deputies (as obtained at the2024 Romanian legislative election), it also has the largest number of mayors, as well as the second largest number of local and county councillors and county presidents (after PNL), remaining the biggest and most influential political force in the country to the present day.[21][22]
Following the 27–29 May 1992 Convention of theNational Salvation Front (Romanian:Frontul Salvării Naționale, FSN) whenPetre Roman became President of the Party, former Party LeaderIon Iliescu and his group of supporters withdrew from FSN and founded theDemocratic National Salvation Front (Romanian:Frontul Democrat al Salvării Naționale, FDSN) while the rest of FSN was renamed as theDemocratic Party (Romanian: Partidul Democrat) in May 1993.[23]
During its first National Conference on the 28th of June 1992, FDSN decided on endorsing Ion Iliescu in the1992 Romanian general election,[24] which they later won and went on to govern Romania until 1996.[20] On 10 July 1993, it took the name of Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR) upon merger with theRomanian Socialist Democratic Party, theRepublican Party, and the Cooperative Party.[25][20]
From 1992 to 1996, the PDSR ruled in coalition with theRomanian National Unity Party (PUNR) andGreater Romania Party (PRM), and the left-wingSocialist Party of Labour (PSM), nicknemed by the Press as theRed Quadrilateral. The PUNR had ministers in the cabinet chaired byNicolae Văcăroiu from March 1992 to September 1996. The PRM was not present at the cabinet-level but was given some posts in the state administration but which it retracted when it left the coalition in 1995.[26]
PDSR went into opposition after the1996 Romanian general election, which was won by the right-wing coalitionRomanian Democratic Convention (CDR).[27]
After four years of governmental turmoil and economic downfall, poorly managed by the crumbling CDR, saw PDSR making a fulminant comeback, winning the2000 Romanian general election, this time in a coalition named theSocial Democratic Pole of Romania (PDSR) along with theRomanian Social Democratic Party (PSDR, who was part of the government from 1996 to 2000, as a member of theSocial Democratic Union, now led byAlexandru Athanasiu) and theRomanian Humanist Party (PUR). The PSDR merged with PDSR on 16 June 2001, and the resulting party took the PSD name, with PDSR/PSD leaderAdrian Năstase becoming prime minister. The centre-leftDemocratic Party (PD) was also invited by both Athanasiu and Năstase to join the new PSD, but PD presidentTraian Băsescu refused to take part in the merger.[28][29][30] A controversial figure due to the corruption scandals in which he and his party were involved, Năstase is still regarded by both admirers and rivals (including his archrivalTraian Băsescu),[31] as the best and most efficient Romanian post-communist Prime Minister, being praised for his efforts of Euro-Atlantic integration of Romania and for the stabilization and modernization of the Romanian economy.[32][33][34][35]
In November 2004,Adrian Năstase, the PSD candidate and incumbentPrime Minister of Romania, won the first round of the presidential elections but did not have a majority and had to go to a second round of voting, which he narrowly lost toTraian Băsescu of the oppositionJustice and Truth Alliance (DA), who became Romania's 4th president. In the2004 Romanian general election, the PSD gained the largest share of the vote but because it did not have a majority, the other parties that managed to enter parliament, UDMR/RMDSZ and PUR, abandoned their respective pre-electoral agreements with the PSD and joined the Justice and Truth Alliance (DA), mainly at the pressure of Băsescu.Mircea Geoană was elected president of the party in April 2005 by delegates at a PSD Party Congress held in Bucharest. His victory represented a surprise defeat for Iliescu, who was expected to defeat Geoană with ease. On 17 April 2008, the PSD and the PC announced they would form a political alliance for the2008 Romanian local elections.[36]
In February 2010, the Congress electedVictor Ponta as president after Geoană lost the2009 Romanian presidential election. On 5 February 2011, the PSD formed apolitical alliance known as theSocial Liberal Union (USL) with the PC and theNational Liberal Party (PNL).[37] The USL was disbanded on 25 February 2014 with exit of the PNL, which entered the opposition.[38]
In July 2015,Liviu Dragnea was elected by the Congress of the PSD as the new president of the party, with 97% of the votes from the members. He was elected as leader after the former prime ministerVictor Ponta stepped down on 12 July 2015 following charges of corruption that were later dropped. On 12 April 2019, the PSD was suspended from theParty of European Socialists (PES) following concerns about judicial reforms of theDăncilă Cabinet.[39] In May 2019, afterLiviu Dragnea's jailing,Viorica Dăncilă was elected by the Congress of the PSD as the new president of the party.
After being ousted from power in October 2019, the PSD also lost the2019 Romanian presidential election. Such decline sent shockwase across theEuropean Union (EU), especially the PES, as it resulted in their loss of power withinvon der Leyen Commission. Nonetheless, Daniel Hegedüs posited that this could be a win for both the PES and the wider European left, as the PES would regain credibility because "mounting authoritarianism in Hungary and Poland has suffered under the burden of PSD's rule-of-law record". In addition, Hegedüs noted the fact that this could represent another chance for the PSD to reform itself and change its ways.[40]
In August 2020,Marcel Ciolacu became president of the party (after having previously served for this position only asad interim between November 2019 and August 2020).[41] During the same month, the PSD was willing to vote amotion of no confidence against thesecond Orban cabinet.[21] Shortly after December 2020, while still the largest party in the wake of the2020 Romanian legislative election, the PSD suffered significant political capital losses (as they previously did in the2020 Romanian local elections as well) given the chaotic and negative governmental activity the party was responsible for during the former legislature (more specifically during the years 2017 and 2019), yet remained the biggestparliamentary opposition well up until the end of 2021.
During the2021 Romanian political crisis, the PSD was again willing to have such a vote, this time against theCîțu Cabinet,[42] which it subsequently did,[43] thereby contributing to its final dismissal.[22] In November 2021, successful negotiations with the PNL led the PSD closer to returning government in the incumbentCiucă Cabinet within agrand coalition government known as theNational Coalition for Romania (orCNR for short).[44] The PSD is still governing Romania as of early 2022, albeit with major tensions in the said grand coalition. The coalition has been described asauthoritarian conservative.[45][46]
In November 2022, the PSD agreed with the MoldovanEuropean Social Democratic Party (PSDE) to begin a strategic partnership.[47]
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1 After the merger, the party changed its name from theDemocratic National Salvation Front (FDSN) to the Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR).
2 After the merger, the party changed its name from the Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR) to the Social Democratic Party (PSD).
Like its counterpart national-level members of theParty of European Socialists (PES), the PSD has acentre-left outlook and has been described as governing as centre-left,[54] but has also been described as pragmatic,[55] owing to itssyncretic politics.[55][56] The party has been described associal democratic,[57][58][59]social conservative,[66]economic nationalist,[69]left-wing nationalist,[73], and left-wing populist.[77] The PSD was formed as a result of the merger of theRomanian Social Democratic Party (PSDR), which had an internationalist social-democratic ideology, with theParty of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR), whose governance was marked by a combination ofsocial democracy,democratic socialism,labourism, pragmatism,left-wing populism, and nationalism.[78] The 2003 absorption of theSocialist Party of Labour (PSM) and the Socialist Party of the National Renaissance (PSRN) led to the strengthening of theleft-wing nationalism component within the party.[79][80] Until 2021[81][82][83][84] unlike the majority of Western European PES party members and as other like-minded centre-left, social democratic parties in Central and Eastern Europeanpost-Communism, it has taken a moresoft Eurosceptic[81] outlook,[83][84][85] though it is neutral in regards toEuropean integration.[86] PSD stated that it endorses EU and NATO membership.[87][88][89][90][91] The party is more conservative than PES when it comes to social issues,[60][92][93] reflecting the country's social-conservative outlook,[94] including in itscentre-right counterpart, theNational Liberal Party (PNL).[57]
The party has been described as havingcentre-left rhetoric and economic policies, while being more conservative on personal and ethical matters. According to Florin Poenaru, "the movement led by Ion Iliescu was from the very beginning the party of local capitalists and not of the industrial proletariat. ... PSD was the party that aggregated the interests of the autochthonous capitalists, but whose electoral basis was the former industrial proletariat."[95] Poenaru states that PSD never said no to theneoliberal agenda but applied it rather slowly.[95]Andrei Pleșu once stated that the mainpost-Communist Romanian parties do not act according to some ideology or doctrine.[96]
Political analyst Radu Magdin said that the PSD is "a catch-all party: its values are conservative, its economic policy is liberal and it has a social, left-leaning rhetoric when it comes to public policies." An example is their calls for both tax cuts and pensions and wages increase in 2016.[55] Its more conservative outlook is owed to the social-conservative nature ofpost-Communist countries, and has been adopted by both the centre-left (PSD) and thecentre-right (PNL).[97] For Cornel Ban, Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Pardee School of Boston University, the PSD is an anomaly in Eastern Europe in that it was an ideal playground forright-wing populist parties but has seen thepolitical left routinely win; this was in part because thepolitical right andfar-right were in government, including at the local level, during the post-Communist slumps which remained in the mind of many voters.[57] Journalist Jean-Baptiste Chastand said that the PSD-ledpro-European government in Romania took anational conservative turn.[98] The historianIoan Stanomir stated that PSD is a conservative party, that has nothing to do with the left,[99] while journalist Bogdan Tiberiu Iacob described the party asprogressive-conservative.[87] PSD alsoopposed the mandatoryrefugee quotas.[100][101][102] Journalist Daniel Mihăilescu labeled the party asnational populist.[103]Deutsche Welle stated that, unlike most European Social-democratic parties, PSD is againstsocial progressivism and is strongly conservative.[104] Journalist and philosipherAndrei Cornea also stated that PSD is not a social-democratic party, but a patrimonial-conservative one, structured around vassalism and clientelism, whose essential electoral pool is formed by a poor, ignorant and especially devoid of civic conscience.[105] PSD has alsoethno-nationalist factions.[106] Under Dragnea's leadership, PSD has been described asnational populist andsovereigntist.[107][108]The PopuList labeled PSD underVictor Ponta andLiviu Dragnea as "nationalist,economically liberal, socially conservative".[109]
In regards toLGBT rights, in general, PSD opposes therecognition of same-sex marriages and civil partnerships. However, in 2018, then PSD presidentLiviu Dragnea hinted that PSD could support the recognition ofcivil partnerships.[110][111][112] Also, in January 2001, it was the PSD-dominatedAdrian Năstase's government that adopted the Emergency Ordinance no. 89/2001,[113] which eliminated Art. 200 of the Penal Code and adjusted other articles referring to sex offences to avoid discriminatory treatment of offenders, thus legalising same-sex relations.[114] This ordinance came into force in January 2002, after PresidentIon Iliescu (the founder of PSD) signed the new law.[115] However, the former president of the Social Democrats,Marcel Ciolacu, was a strong opponent to the recognition of same-sex marriage and the civil partnership.[116][117]
The party has strong connections with theRomanian Orthodox Church (BOR), reflecting the party'ssocial conservatism.
The president of the party conducts the general activity of the party, the activity of the National Executive Committee and the National Permanent Bureau and responds to the Congress on the general work of the PSD. The president is elected by secret vote by the Congress for a four-year mandate and represents the party in the Romanian society, in relations with the central and local public authorities, as well as with other parties or organizations in the country or abroad.
PSD Honorary President is nominated by Congress for the four-year mandate of the party's recognized personalities. The Honorary President of the PSD participates with the right to vote in the work of the national governing bodies.
The Secretary-General manages the functional services at the central level and the relationship with the county and Bucharest organizations. It coordinates the Executive Secretariat of the PSD with 7 to 9 executive secretaries. Executive secretaries shall be appointed by the National Executive Committee, on a proposal from the chair, after consulting the Secretary-General.
The Permanent National Bureau is the operative body for analyzing and deciding the party. It has the following composition: PSD President, PSD Honorary President, PSD Secretary General, PSD Deputy Chairpersons. At the National Permanent Bureau, the chairman of the National Council, the leaders of the parliamentary groups, the presidents of women and youth organizations, the treasurer, the director of the Social Democratic Institute, the representative of the county administrative council presidents, the mayors of municipalities and the representative of the National League of Mayors and PSD Councilors participate. The National Permanent Bureau meets weekly, usually Monday.
The Permanent National Bureau have the following duties:
Coordinates the entire activity of the party between the meetings of the National Council. The PSD National Executive Committee analyzes, debates and decides on the fundamental issues of the Party's work on: the program, the electoral strategy, the political and electoral alliances, the governing program, the structure and the nominal composition of the Government, the validation of the party's preliminary election for the nomination of candidates for senators, MEPs, MEPs, and elected local, merging by absorption or merging with other parties; PSD collaboration agreements with trade unions and employers' confederations; the strategy of selecting, preparing, training and promoting the party's human resources, organizing and conducting internal party choices, coordinating the activities of the Youth Organization and the Women's Organization.
The adopted decisions are validated by the National Council. The National Executive Committee consists of PSD President, PSD Honorary President, PSD Secretary General, PSD Vice Presidents, President of the National Council, Presidents of County Organizations, Sectors and the Bucharest Municipality Organization, the president of the Women's Organization and the president of the Youth Organization.
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The National Council is the governing body of the party in the interval between two congresses. It consists of a maximum of 751 members elected from the candidates nominated by the County and Bucharest Conferences, or proposed by the Congress. The National Council elects and revokes by secret vote the president of the National Council and the treasurer, validates the composition of the National Executive Committee and The Permanent National Bureau; decides to conclude political alliances as well as merge by merging or absorbing with other political parties or political parties; to hear the activity reports submitted by members of the Permanent National Bureau, by the Chairman of the Commission for Arbitration and Moral Integrity, by the president of the National Commission for Financial Control and Treasurer and decides accordingly on the basis of the mandate given by the Congress, according to the provisions of the Statute; is responsible for organizing presidential, parliamentary, euro-parliamentary and local electoral campaigns; analyzes the work of parliamentary groups, women's and youth organizations, the National League of Mayors and PSD Councilors; validates the decisions of the National Executive Committee on the Governance Program and confirms the proposals of members of the Government; resolve the appeals lodged against the decisions of the councils of the county organizations or of the Bucharest municipality; resolves the divergences between the Councils of the County Organizations, respectively the Bucharest Municipality Organization and the National Executive Committee in connection with the nomination of the candidates for the legislative elections, if they persist; approves the party's annual revenue and expenditure budget, decides on its execution.
The PSD National Council meets annually and whenever needed. Deputies, senators and MEPs who are not members of the National Council participate in its meetings without the right to vote. The National Council may decide, on a proposal from the Permanent National Bureau, to organize forums, leagues, associations, clubs and other such bodies for the promotion of strategies in the PSD Political Program, in the Romanian society and in partnership with the trade unions. The party-union relationship as well as the concrete ways of collaboration will be established by the National Permanent Bureau. Within the PSD there are: the National Workers' Forum; National Farmers Forum; National Ecologists' Forum; The National Forum of Scientists, Culture and Art and the Pensioners' League. In order to develop PSD programs and strategies in the field of party life, consultative councils can be set up on: political analysis, image and relations with the media; organization and human resources. The Consultative Council for the Problems of National Minorities of the PSD carries out activities to identify the specific problems faced by national minorities in Romania and develops appropriate solutions and proposals for their resolution.
The supreme governing party of the Social Democratic Party is the Congress, which is convened every four years or in extraordinary cases. The PSD Congress is made up of elected delegates by secret ballot by the County Conferences and the Bucharest Municipality and has the following attributions: adopting or modifying the PSD Statute and the Political Program of the Party; sets out the party's guidelines, strategy and tactics for the period between two congresses; elects the party chairman, the vice-presidents, the general secretary, the other members of the National Council, the National Commission for Arbitration and Moral Integrity and the National Commission for Financial Control; appoints the PSD candidate to the position of President of Romania and the prime minister in the event of winning the elections; resolves possible appeals against decisions of other PSD central bodies.
| Nº | Name Birth–Death | Portrait | Term start | Term end | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ion Iliescu (1930–2025) |  | 7 April 1992 | 11 October 1992 | 6 months and 4 days |
| 2 | Oliviu Gherman (1930–2020) | 11 October 1992 | January 1997 | c. 4 years and 2 months | |
| (1) | Ion Iliescu (1930–2025) | | January 1997 | 20 December 2000 | c. 4 years |
| 3 | Adrian Năstase1 (1950– ) |  | 20 December 2000 | 21 January 2005 | 4 years, 1 month and 1 day |
| 4 | Mircea Geoană (1958– |  | 2005 | 2010 | c. 5 years |
| 5 | Victor Ponta (1972– |  | 21 February 2010 | 12 July 2015 | 5 years, 4 months and 21 days |
| — | Rovana Plumb (acting) (1960– | _(14278213368).jpg) | 24 June 2015 | 22 July 2015 | 28 days |
| — | Liviu Dragnea (acting) (1962– ) | _(15621867427)_(cropped).jpg) | 22 July 2015 | 12 October 2015 | 2 months and 20 days |
| 6 | Liviu Dragnea (1962– ) | 12 October 2015 | 27 May 2019 | 3 years, 7 months and 15 days | |
| 7 | Viorica Dăncilă (1963– |  | 27 May 2019 | 26 November 2019 | 5 months and 30 days |
| — | Marcel Ciolacu (acting) (1967– | .jpg) | 26 November 2019 | 22 August 2020 | 8 months and 27 days |
| 8 | Marcel Ciolacu (1967– | 22 August 2020 | 25 November 2024 | 4 years, 3 months and 3 days | |
| — | Victor Negrescu (acting) (1985– |  | 25 November 2024 | 3 December 2024 | 9 days |
| (8) | Marcel Ciolacu (1967– | | 3 December 2024 | 20 May 2025 | 5 months and 17 days |
| — | Sorin Grindeanu (acting) (1973– | _(cropped).jpg) | 20 May 2025 | present | 5 months and 7 days |
1 Năstase served twice asChamber President, the first term from March 1992 to May 1996, while the second from December 2004 to March 2006.
| Year | Chamber | Senate | Position | Aftermath | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| 1992 | 3,015,708 | 27.72 | 117 / 341 | 3,102,201 | 28.29 | 49 / 143 | 1st (asFDSN) | PDSR-PUNR-PRM-PSM government (1992–1996) |
| 1996 | 2,633,860 | 21.52 | 91 / 343 | 2,836,011 | 23.08 | 41 / 143 | 2nd (as PDSR) | Opposition toCDR-USD-UDMR government (1996–2000) |
| 2000 | 3,968,464 | 36.61 | 139 / 345 | 4,040,212 | 37.09 | 59 / 140 | 1st (withinPDSR)1 | PDSR minority government (2000–2004) |
| 2004 | 3,730,352 | 36.61 | 113 / 332 | 3,798,607 | 36.30 | 46 / 137 | 1st (withinPSD+PUR)2 | Opposition toDA-PUR3-UDMR government (2004–2007) |
| EndorsingPNL-UDMR minority government (2007–2008) | ||||||||
| 2008 | 2,279,449 | 33.10 | 110 / 334 | 2,352,968 | 34.16 | 48 / 137 | 2nd (withinPSD+PC)4 | PDL-PSD government (2008–2009) |
| Opposition toPDL-UNPR-UDMR government (2009–2012) | ||||||||
| USL government (2012) | ||||||||
| 2012 | 4,344,288 | 58.63 | 149 / 412 | 4,457,526 | 60.10 | 58 / 176 | 1st (withinUSL)5 | USL government (2012–2014) |
| PSD-UNPR-UDMR-PC government (2014) | ||||||||
| PSD-UNPR-ALDE government (2014–2015) | ||||||||
| Endorsing thetechnocraticCioloș Cabinet (2015–2017) | ||||||||
| 2016 | 3,204,864 | 45.48 | 154 / 329 | 3,221,786 | 45.68 | 67 / 136 | 1st | PSD-ALDE government (2017–2019) |
| PSD minority government (2019) | ||||||||
| EndorsingPNL minority government (2019–2020) | ||||||||
| Opposition toPNL minority government (2020) | ||||||||
| 2020 | 1,705,777 | 28.90 | 110 / 330 | 1,732,276 | 29.32 | 47 / 136 | 1st | Opposition toPNL-USR PLUS-UDMR government (2020–2021) |
| Opposition toPNL-UDMR minority government (2021) | ||||||||
| CNR government (2021–2024) | ||||||||
| 2024 | 2,029,906 | 21.96 | 86 / 331 | 2,065,087 | 22.30 | 36 / 136 | 1st | PSD-PNL-UDMR minority government (2024–2025) |
| Opposition toPNL-UDMR minority government (2025) | ||||||||
| PSD-PNL–USR-UDMR government (2025–present) | ||||||||
1Social Democratic Pole of Romania members: PDSR,PSDR (2 senators and 10 deputies), andPUR (4 senators and 6 deputies).
2National Union PSD+PUR members: PSD andPUR (11 senators and 19 deputies).
3Soon after the elections,PUR broke the alliance with the PSD and switched sides, joining the government led by theJustice and Truth Alliance (DA).
4Alliance PSD+PC members: PSD andPC (1 senator and 4 deputies).
5TheSocial Liberal Union (USL) was an alliance consisting of two smaller alliances, more specifically theCentre Left Alliance (ACS) and theCentre Right Alliance (ACD). The members of theCentre Left Alliance (ACS) were the PSD and theUNPR (5 senators and 10 deputies) whereas the members of theCentre Right Alliance (ACD) were thePNL (50 senators and 100 deputies) and thePC (8 senators and 13 deputies).
| Year | County councilors | Mayors | Local councilors | Popular vote | % | Position | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | ||||
| 1996 | 1,390,225 | 16.28 | 290 / 1,718 | 2,713,095 | 26.28 | 928 / 2,954 | 1,716,899 | 18.82 | 9,483 / 33,429 | — | — | 1st |
| 2000 | 2,241,930 | 27.4 | 496 / 1,718 | 2,416,598 | 27.4 | 1,050 / 2,954 | 2,197,719 | 25.8 | 11,380 / 39,718 | — | — | 1st |
| 2004 | 2,957,617 | 32.70 | 543 / 1,436 | 3,908,895 | 41.83 | 1,702 / 3,137 | 2,951,226 | 31.88 | 14,990 / 40,031 | — | — | 1st |
| 2008 | 2,337,102 | 27.97 | 452 / 1,393 | 2,717,490 | 30.77 | 1,138 / 3,179 | 2,268,271 | 26.67 | 12,137 / 40,297 | — | — | 2nd |
| 2012 | 4,203,007 | 49.68 | 723 / 1,338 | 2,782,792 | 33.99 | 1,292 / 3,121 | 2,630,123 | 32.74 | 12,668 / 39,121 | — | — | 1st (asUSL) |
| 2016 | 3,270,909 | 39.60 | 638 / 1,434 | 3,330,213 | 38.98 | 1,708 / 3,186 | 3,161,046 | 37.70 | 16,969 / 40,067 | — | — | 1st |
| 2020 | 1,605,721 | 22.32 | 362 / 1,340 | 2,262,791 | 30.34 | 1,362 / 3,176 | 2,090,777 | 28.40 | 13,820 / 39,900 | — | — | 2nd |
| 2024 | TBD | 33.50 | 550 / 1,338 | TBD | 34.74 | 1,677 / 3,180 | TBD | 32.56 | 16,509 / 39,900 | TBD | TBD | 1st |
| Year | County presidents | Position | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | ||
| 1992 | — | — | 30 / 41 | 1st (asFSN) |
| 1996 | — | — | 17 / 41 | 1st |
| 2000 | — | — | 29 / 41 | 1st |
| 2004 | — | — | 19 / 41 | 1st |
| 2008 | 2,234,465 | 28.06 | 17 / 41 | 1st |
| 2012 | 4,260,709 | 49.71 | 22 / 41 | 1st (withinUSL) |
| 2016 | — | — | 28 / 41 | 1st |
| 2020 | 1,663,399 | 22.86 | 20 / 41 | 1st |
| 2024 | — | — | 25 / 41 | 1st |
| Election | County | Percentage | Councillors | +/- | Aftermath |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Alba | 16.61% | 6 / 32 |  3 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Arad | 9.89% | 3 / 32 | 8 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Argeș | 44.78% | 17 / 34 | 3 | PSD minority |
| 2020 | Bacău | 42.25% | 17 / 36 |  | PSD |
| 2020 | Bihor | 15.54% | 6 / 34 | 3 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Bistrița-Năsăud | 40.62% | 14 / 30 | 3 | PSD-PMP |
| 2020 | Botoșani | 40.13% | 15 / 32 | 3 | PSD |
| 2020 | Brăila | 47.97% | 17 / 30 |  3 | PSD majority |
| 2020 | Brașov | 19.35% | 8 / 34 | 3 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Bucharest | 32.38% | 21 / 55 | 3 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Buzău | 57.68% | 21 / 32 | 1 | PSD majority |
| 2020 | Călărași | 45.09% | 15 / 30 | 3 | PSD minority |
| 2020 | Caraș-Severin | 27.51% | 10 / 30 | 4 | PSD-PMP |
| 2020 | Cluj | 13.32% | 5 / 36 | 7 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Constanța | 23.01% | 10 / 36 | 6 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Covasna | 5.73% | 2 / 30 | 1 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Dâmbovița | 43.66% | 17 / 34 | 5 | PSD majority |
| 2020 | Dolj | 39.66% | 16 / 36 | 9 | PSD-PRO-PER |
| 2020 | Galați | 39.73% | 17 / 34 | 2 | PSD majority |
| 2020 | Giurgiu | 33.20% | 12 / 30 | 8 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Gorj | 42.95% | 16 / 32 | | PSD majority |
| 2020 | Harghita | 7.76% | 3 / 30 | | Opposition |
| 2020 | Hunedoara | 43.80% | 17 / 32 | 1 | PSD majority |
| 2020 | Ialomița | 37.27% | 14 / 30 | 4 | PSD-PNL |
| 2020 | Iași | 24.49% | 10 / 36 | 7 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Ilfov | 12.81% | 5 / 32 | 7 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Maramureș | 25.14% | 10 / 34 | 9 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Mehedinți | 45.58% | 15 / 30 | 3 | PSD majority |
| 2020 | Mureș | 17.87% | 7 / 34 | 3 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Neamț | 35.76% | 13 / 34 | 4 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Olt | 54.44% | 21 / 32 | 2 | PSD majority |
| 2020 | Prahova | 31.59% | 11 / 36 | 5 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Sălaj | 27.89% | 10 / 30 | 2 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Satu Mare | 14.00% | 5 / 32 | 4 | Opposition |
| UDMR-PSD-PMP | |||||
| 2020 | Sibiu | 13.90% | 5 / 32 | 7 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Suceava | 30.47% | 13 / 36 | 3 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Teleorman | 39.37% | 15 / 32 | 3 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Timiș | 15.02% | 7 / 36 | 9 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Tulcea | 34.35% | 12 / 30 | 2 | Opposition |
| 2020 | Vâlcea | 41.69% | 16 / 32 | 2 | PSD-PER |
| 2020 | Vaslui | 39.11% | 14 / 34 | 6 | PSD |
| 2020 | Vrancea | 41.91% | 15 / 32 | 3 | PSD |
| Year | Candidate | First round | Second round | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Percentage | Position | Votes | Percentage | Position | ||
| 1996 | Ilie Năstase | — | 30.38% | 2nd | — | 43.26% | 2nd |
| 2000 | Sorin Oprescu | 260,689 | 41.16% | 1st | 353,038 | 49.31% | 2nd |
| 2004 | Mircea Geoană | 225,774 | 29.74% | 2nd | — | ||
| 2008 | Cristian Diaconescu | 67,251 | 12.33% | 3rd | not qualified | ||
| 2012 | Sorin Oprescu1 | 430,512 | 53.79% | 1st | — | ||
| 2016 | Gabriela Firea | 246,553 | 42.97% | 1st | single-round elections | ||
| 2020 | Gabriela Firea | 250,690 | 37.97% | 2nd | single-round elections | ||
| 2024 | Gabriela Firea | 163,147 | 22.34% | 2nd | single-round elections | ||
1Independent candidate endorsed by theUSL
| Year | Candidate | First round | Second round | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Percentage | Position | Votes | Percentage | Position | ||
| 1990 | Ion Iliescu | 12,232,498 | 85.0% | 1st | — | ||
| 1992 | Ion Iliescu | 5,633,465 | 47.5% | 1st | 7,393,429 | 61.4% | 1st |
| 1996 | Ion Iliescu | 4,081,093 | 32.3% | 1st | 5,914,579 | 45.6% | 2nd |
| 2000 | Ion Iliescu | 4,076,273 | 36.4% | 1st | 6,696,623 | 66.8% | 1st |
| 2004 | Adrian Năstase | 4,278,864 | 40.9% | 1st | 4,881,520 | 48.8% | 2nd |
| 2009 | Mircea Geoană | 3,027,838 | 31.1% | 2nd | 5,205,760 | 49.7% | 2nd |
| 2014 | Victor Ponta | 3,836,093 | 40.4% | 1st | 5,264,383 | 45.6% | 2nd |
| 2019 | Viorica Dăncilă | 2,051,725 | 22.3% | 2nd | 3,339,922 | 33.9% | 2nd |
| 2024 | Marcel Ciolacu | 1,769,761 | 19.15% | 3rd | not qualified | ||
| 2025 | Crin Antonescu1 | 1,892,930 | 20.07% | 3rd | not qualified | ||
1Common candidate of theRomania Forward Electoral Alliance, a coalition of PSD,PNL, andUDMR
| Year | Votes | % | MEPs | Position | EU party | EP group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 2007 | — | 34.28 | 12 / 35 | 1st | PES | S&D |
| Nov. 2007 | 1,184,018 | 23.11 | 10 / 35 | 2nd | PES | S&D |
| 2009 | 1,504,218 | 31.07 | 10 / 33 | 1st (withinPSD+PC)1 | PES | S&D |
| 2014 | 2,093,237 | 37.60 | 12 / 32 | 1st (within USD)2 | PES | S&D |
| 2019 | 2,040,765 | 22.51 | 9 / 32 | 2nd | PES | S&D |
| 2024[118] | 4,341,686 | 48.55 | 11 / 33 | 1st (withinCNR)3 | PES | S&D |
1Alliance PSD+PC members: PSD andPC (1 MEP).
2Social Democratic Union (USD) members: PSD,PC (2 MEPs), andUNPR (2 MEPs).
3National Coalition for Romania members: PSD (11 MEPs) andPNL (8 MEPs).
Political opponents have criticised PSD for harbouring formerRomanian Communist Party (PCR) officials, and for allegedly attempting to control the Romanianmass media. By 2009, a number of its incumbent or former senior members have also been accused of corruption, interfering in the judiciary and using their political positions for personal enrichment.[119] As of 2015, founding member Ion Iliescu is facing prosecution on charges of crimes against humanity for his role in theJune 1990 Mineriad,[120] while former president Liviu Dragnea was convicted for electoral fraud and for instigation to the abuse of public office and being indicted for forming an "organised criminal group" in 2018.[121] That same year, former president Victor Ponta had also been investigated for corruption but was ultimately acquitted.[122] Adrian Năstase temporarily self-suspended himself from the position on 16 January 2006, pending investigation of a scandal provoked by his wealth declaration, where he was accused of corruption.[123] Alleged text transcripts of PSD meetings surfaced on an anonymous website just before the2004 Romanian general election. Năstase and his ministers are shown talking about political involvement in corruption trials of the government's members, or involvement in suppressing "disobedient" media. Năstase stated that the transcripts were fake, but several party members, including former PSD president and former foreign ministerMircea Geoană, have said they are genuine, though Geoană later retracted his statement.[124] Security expert Iulian Fota stated that PSD is aneocommunistanti-Western party backed byRussia.[125]
Politicians of the party have occasionally employed "utilitarian anti-Semitism", meaning that politicians who may usually not beantisemites played off certain antisemitic prejudices in order to serve their political necessities.[126] On 5 March 2012, PSD SenatorDan Șova, at that time the party spokesman, said onThe Money Channel that "noJew suffered on Romanian territory, thanks to marshalAntonescu."[127]Elie Wiesel National Institute for Studying the Holocaust in Romania expressed its deep disagreement and indignation over the statements of the spokesman of the party.[128] Following public outcry, Șova retracted his statement and issued a public apology; nevertheless, the chairman of the party,Victor Ponta, announced his removal from the office of party spokesman.[129]
Between 2017 and 2019, the party, along with its former junior coalition partners, more specifically theAlliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) and theDemocratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ), had unsuccessfully tried to pass a series of tremendously controversial laws related to the judicial system. In a 2018 preliminary opinion, theVenice Commission stated that the changes could severely undermine the independence of judges and prosecutors in Romania.[130] This unsuccessful endeavour committed by the former PSD–ALDE coalition was the basis for the nationwide2017–2019 Romanian protests,[131] the largest in the country's entire history thus far.[132]
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