PSD lost everything and understood nothing: reform, a forbidden word in Kiseleff

Marcel Ciolacu is no longer the president of PSD. The countless scandals during his governments, the involvement in the Nordis case, the loss of the canceled presidential elections last fall, the score recorded in the parliamentary elections - a percentage that forced him to join a new governing alliance with PNL and UDMR -, the loss of the first round of the presidential elections in May 2025, due to the appointment of a retreaded candidate - Crin Antonescu, the non-involvement in supporting the pro-European candidate Nicuşor Dan in the second round were fatal for Ciolacu, who lost the trust of PSD voters and supporters, but also the trust of several social-democratic leaders.

However, in his farewell speech, Marcel Ciolacu did not refer to any of the above aspects, but stated: "Today I took a difficult but necessary step: I ended my term as president of the Social Democratic Party, with a heart full of gratitude and respect for all those who stood by me in this project. It was an honor to lead the party that led Romania to NATO. The party that opened the doors to the European Union. The party that recently put the last dot on the map of European integration, by entering the Schengen area. No other political force in this country has in its history achievements so solidly linked to national progress. That is why PSD remains the strongest Romanian political brand that we, social democrats, and all those who support us must be proud of and which we must never doubt. (...) Today it is time for other colleagues to take the lead. To take PSD further, towards a modern party, more adapted to the reality in which we live, but which remains close to the people. Those who come must be encouraged and supported with all our strength. The future of this party lies in the hands of those who truly believe in the values of solidarity, equity and social justice. (...) I have chosen to stop here, but I am not going anywhere. I will remain a leftist all my life. I remain close to you, as a member of this great political family, with all the confidence that the Social Democratic Party will continue to be the main force of balance and progress in Romania.

I remain here. But not on stage. Not at the forefront, but in the ranks, but with my heart as connected to the PSD as on the first day".

Marcel Ciolacu's speech, although it seems to be a strong one, of confidence in the party, is intended to hide under the rug what practically followed after the electoral failure: the exit from government, without any dignity, without a plan, without a minimum of coordination, leaving a tired government, a failed coalition and an electorate that does not understand even today what the PSD actually wanted.

Following Marcel Ciolacu's resignation from the PSD leadership, the vacant position was immediately offered by the social-democratic political dinosaurs to Sorin Grindeanu. Yes, we are talking about the same Grindeanu who in 2017 was ejected from the Victoria Palace, from the head of the Government, by his own party after the scandal caused by the approval and repeal of Ordinance 13, the man who perfectly embodies the image of the politician without a clear profile: sometimes a technocrat, sometimes a local baron, sometimes a prime minister, sometimes in the background on the social-democratic political scene.

We are talking about the same Sorin Grindeanu who almost two years ago declared, according to News.ro, about the position of PSD president: "I don't think it's a position that suits me, I tell you honestly. Marcel Ciolacu knows this very well. I don't have much patience to interact with issues that are not necessarily vital for the smooth running of things in Romania. I've never been a good listener, in any position I've held. (...) Often, this position of president of the PSD comes with an extraordinary patience that Marcel has, to talk to almost every party member and to listen to them in the true sense of the word. These are things that I don't have, I don't have much patience, I'm more of an action person than to sit and analyze, to listen. I don't think that at this moment it's a position that suits my profile."

The National Political Council of the PSD voted quickly yesterday and almost without debate. Daniel Băluţă, the mayor of Sector 4 of the Capital, re-elected to that position on June 9, 2024 as proof that his work as mayor was appreciated by the Bucharest residents of that sector, was the second name on the list of candidates for the position of interim president of the PSD, but his registration was probably one for imitating democracy within the social-democratic party. Following the vote, Grindeanu obtained 67 votes, and Băluţă 14 votes. Although Grindeanu was appointed interim president, the party does not seem any more stable.

The most lucid and scathing voice of the moment comes from Buzău. Constantin Toma, the mayor of Buzău, detonated an internal bombshell that the social democratic barons had been avoiding for years: "The PSD, in its current form, if it keeps going like this, will self-destruct." It wasn't just a criticism, it was a diagnosis. Toma spoke about the complete disconnection of the party's leadership from the grassroots, about the inability to support a democratic candidate in the second round, and about the political cowardice of a leadership that preferred strategic neutrality to an extremist wave.

Those who didn't have the courage to say Simion's name or ask the electorate to choose democracy over radicalism are now talking about reform. Ridiculous.

The PSD is at a crossroads, facing the need for profound reform to regain its credibility and the support of the electorate. Choosing a new leader and redefining its political strategy are essential for the party's future. Victor Negrescu, Vice President of the European Parliament, stressed the need to rethink the way the PSD does politics and to regain the trust of Romanians.

Basically, at this moment the PSD looks like a party that has lost its ideological compass. It is a party that is afraid of its own past, but does not have the courage to embrace the future. The PSD looks like an aging political entity, in which the authentic social-democratic discourse has been replaced by a sterile hybrid of soft populism and simulated technocracy. A party that no longer knows who it is addressing: pensioners? Young people? The working class? The business community? Nobody knows. Not even the PSD.

What is next? Probably an extraordinary congress, internal battles between "reformists" and "old barons" and, perhaps, a change of leadership. But without a clear vision, without a deep reset and without people who understand the world in which they live, the PSD risks becoming irrelevant. Not because it doesn't have competent people, but because it doesn't have the courage to bring them forward. Not because it doesn't have resources, but because it wastes them in sterile conflicts and gang calculations. And when we talk about the gang, we refer to the group made up of Paul Stănescu, Marian Neacşu, Ioan Rus, Vasile Dîncu, Olguţa Vasilescu, Gabriela Firea, and others around them.

PSD is a moribund political party not because it lost the elections, but because it forgot who it is. Even worse is the fact that it doesn't seem to want to find out anymore.