Freedom, Unity and Solidarity Party Partidul Libertate, Unitate și Solidaritate | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | PLUS |
| President | Dacian Cioloș |
| Founded | 15 December 2018 |
| Dissolved | 16 April 2021 |
| Merged into | USR |
| Succeeded by | REPER (unofficially) |
| Headquarters | Strada Finlanda, 15, Bucharest |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre |
| National affiliation | 2020 USR-PLUS Alliance(2019–2021) |
| European Parliament group | Renew Europe |
| Colors | Orange |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheParty of Liberty, Unity and Solidarity (Romanian:Partidul Libertate, Unitate și Solidaritate,PLUS) was apro-European,liberal[1]political party established on 26 October 2018,[2][3] whose president was Dacian Cioloș, formerPrime Minister of Romania from 2015 until 2017, elected on 26 January 2019.[4] The party had its origin in the Movement Romania Together (MRÎ), a project which they gave up due to the setting up delay in court.[5] The party merged in 2021 with theSave Romania Union (USR) with which it has been in a political alliance called2020 USR-PLUS Alliance from 2019 to 2021, then formally activating as a sole, unified party known asUSR PLUS (subsequently renamed back to Save Romania Union or USR for short).[6][7]
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On 30 March 2018, formerPrime Minister of RomaniaDacian Cioloș announced his plans to establish a new political party, theRomania Together Movement (Mișcarea România Împreună), together with some of the former members of theCioloș Cabinet, such asDragoș Pîslaru,Vlad Voiculescu,Alin Mituța, Dragoș Tudorache, andAnca Dragu.[8] Despite the party gaining notoriety in the subsequent months and appearing in various opinion polls,[9][10][11] its official registration was never finalized due to various appeals and delays in the legal process, whichCioloș claimed to be politically motivated.[12]
After almost 9 months, on 15 December,Cioloș announced inCluj-Napoca that theFreedom, Unity and Solidarity Party (Partidul Libertății, Unității și Solidarității,PLUS) was registered by three of his colleagues, "who share the same values, the same principles, anonymous people, but who wanted to offer a helping hand". He also claimed that the former effort, theRomania Together Movement, will be abandoned and that he and his team will focus on the development of PLUS. After the announcement, more than 7,500 people requested to join the party in 24 hours.[13]
The first National Convention of PLUS, which had the role of electing the president and the National Council of the organization, took place in Bucharest on 26 January 2019.Dacian Cioloș was elected president with 99.17% of the votes.[14] Having previously announced his intention to participate in theEuropean Parliament elections,[15]Cioloș was also chosen to lead the PLUS list for the elections.[16]
MEPCristian Preda announced on 29 January that he is joining PLUS, allowing the party to have delegates in all polling stations.[17]
On the evening of 2 February 2019, it was announced onFacebook that PLUS and theSave Romania Union (USR) established the2020 USR-PLUS Alliance, which will participate in the2019 European Parliament elections.[18]
While the party was not a member ofAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE), all its MEPs were individual members of this European political party.[19]
PLUS has not defined its ideology clearly. However, a manifesto was published on the party's website[20] expressing support for liberty, social justice, transparency in public administration, as well as commitment to Romania'sEU andNATO membership. Cioloș, the party's president, claimed in an interview that PLUS is situated in "thecentre,centre-right area".[21]
| Election | Chamber | Senate | Position | Aftermath | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| 2016 | did not exist | 0 / 329 | did not exist | 0 / 136 | – | Extra-parliamentary opposition toPSD-ALDE government (2018–2019) | ||
| Extra-parliamentary opposition toPSD minority government (2019) | ||||||||
| Extra-parliamentary support forPNL minority government (2019–2020) | ||||||||
| 2020 | 906,962 | 15.37 | 17 / 330 | 936,862 | 15.86 | 8 / 136 | 3rd (withinUSR PLUS) | PNL-USR PLUS-UDMR government (2020–2021) |
| Merged withUSR (April 2021) | ||||||||
| Election | County Councilors (CJ) | Mayors | Local Councilors (CL) | Popular vote | % | Position | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | ||||
| 2020 | 478,659 | 6.65 | 29 / 1,340 | 490,362 | 6.58 | 8 / 3,176 | 504,563 | 6.85 | 351 / 39,900 | 696,478 | 8.89 | 3rd (withinUSR PLUS) |
| Election | Candidate | First round | Second round | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Percentage | Position | Votes | Percentage | Position | ||
| 2019 | Dan Barna1 | 1,384,450 | 15.02% | 3rd | not qualified | ||
Notes:
1Dan Barna was the candidate endorsed by the2020 USR-PLUS Alliance.
| Election | Votes | % | MEPs | Position | EU Party | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2,028,236 | 22.36 | 4 / 32 | 3rd (withinUSR-PLUS)1 | ALDE[a][19] | RE |
Notes:
12020 USR-PLUS Alliance members:USR (4 MEPs) and PLUS.
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