Romanian Parliamentary Election, 11 December 2016

[Crumpets]

I still have no idea who I'm "rooting" for in this election. On paper, I'm closest to the PSD, but the Romanians I know tell me it's basically just ex-communists who can't be bothered to find jobs elsewhere and sit around Parliament twiddling their thumbs knowing they have a safe reelection down the road. Meanwhile, the PNL seems more eager to govern, but seems to have either no message, or basically a copy+paste of center-right liberal parties from Western Europe.

I'm curious about the "Save Romania" group. Their Wikipedia page is tiny. Do they have any actual, you know, plans?

[Crumpets]

Here's a pretty neat real-time turnout map, although I'm not sure where it's getting its numbers:

http://alegeri.stirileprotv.ro/

[Crumpets]

Is there good enough polling to know who 18-34 year olds generally support?

[Crumpets]

Is there good enough polling to know who 18-34 year olds generally support?

I guess 'good enough' makes it difficult to respond. For the last few elections only ISOR have released breakdowns of their exit polls by age/qualification. According to them, the parliamentary election saw a marked departure from the usual dominance of the PNL among younger voters. But as recently as the locals earlier this year, the winning PSD candidate in Bucharest was running a distant third with 18-34 year olds, who were the strongest supporters of the USR.

Interesting to see how the left-right (if you can even call it that in Romania) young-old divide seems quite different than in the rest of Europe. It makes sense, though, since it's not like the PSD really pushes "young people" issues like a lot of other social democratic parties.

[Crumpets]

The PSD has found their PM. The 52-year economist and Tatar Muslim Sevil Shhaideh. Has there ever been a female Muslim head of government in the EU? Or any Muslim for that matter?

She has been director of the Constanta County Council for almost 30 years (1993-2012), and from 2007-12, she was also a part of the leadership of the National Union of County Councils. In 2012, she became a State Secretary for Regional Development under Liviu Dragnea. When Dragnea was convicted for orchestrating electoral fraud during the 2012 presidential impeachment referendum, she took over as Minister of Regional Development. However, a half year later in late 2015, the whole Ponta cabinet fell, so her first stint as a minister was rather short. Her close connection to Dragnea suggests that he might be using the "Kaczynski model", now that he cannot be PM himself.

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http://www.romaniajournal.ro/psd-proposes-woman-prime-minister/

Did she work under that one long-time mayor of Constanta who was super weird?

[Crumpets]

Iohannis rejects Shhaideh! Major political crisis now. PSD and ALDE contemplates suspending the President.

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http://www.romaniajournal.ro/update-president-iohannis-turns-down-sevil-shhaideh-as-pm-calls-on-psd-alde-to-submit-another-proposal-psd-press-conference-at-16-00h/

http://www.romaniajournal.ro/psd-alde-contemplate-suspending-the-president-following-refusal-to-nominate-sevil-shhaideh-as-pm/

Romania should go to full Parliamentarism (head of state elected by Parliament) system or to full Presidentialism. Current system is unworkable, unless President gets to be elected along or sometime before Parliamentary election (and with a different party system, as coalitions usually split).
But it would be interesting that a country gets to have head of state and head of government by ethnic minorities.

There's always the break-glass-in-case-of-emergency scenario of brining back the monarchy with a Parliamentary system. Romania's current political system was basically designed in its entirety by the Soviet Union and Communist Party of Romania. It makes sense why it wouldn't a) carry as much legitimacy as another system and b) lend itself to good governance.