Civil Society, Climate Change, Development & Aid, Environment, Europe, Headlines

Q&A: ”Copenhagen Was Great for Citizen Mobilisation”

Claudia Ciobanu interviews REMUS CERNEA, leader of the Romanian Green Party

BUCHAREST, Jan 10 2010 (IPS) - “It is important that we all come together, the Green Party, NGOs and citizens, on major issues such as pollution in big cities or deforestation,” says Remus Cernea, the new executive president of the Romanian Green Party. “And we have to use all means, from public protests and working with the media to judicial action and party politics, in order to achieve our goals.”

The 35-year-old presidential candidate of the Romanian Green Party gained 0.6 percent of votes nationwide and one percent in the capital in the December 2009 elections, only three months after he announced his candidature. The fresh discourse and non-conformist outlook of this former human rights campaigner appealed to Romanians who have lost faith in the dominant political class, widely perceived as corrupt and inefficient. Cernea’s popular online campaign won him the nickname of “the facebook candidate”.

Cernea joined the Green Party in November 2008 and is currently engaged in a campaign to increase membership and develop local branches of the party. The party has fewer than 1,000 members, but Cernea has received hundreds of calls from people wishing to join the party since the presidential elections and media space offered to the party is on the rise.

In an interview with IPS correspondent Claudia Ciobanu, Cernea explained that, in the context of post-socialist Romania, environmental protection must be pursued together with consolidating democracy, protecting human rights and strengthening the rule of law, all of which are far from being achieved 20 years after the collapse of communist dictatorships in Eastern Europe.

Excerpts from the interview: Q: Why did you join the existing Green Party rather than form a new one? A: Romania has the most restrictive legislation in the European Union (EU) regarding the registration of new parties. In countries like Britain and Germany you need three to ten members to start a party, there are East European countries with a requirement of 200-300 members, while in Romania 25,000 people are needed, who have to come from half plus one of the total number of counties. This is extremely difficult to achieve. Unjust electoral laws block the emergence of an alternative and any real competition on the political scene. I had initially wanted to form a party of a liberal orientation, but with a social component because social problems in Romania are so serious that they cannot be ignored. But I joined the Green Party because I found in it open-minded people and I believe we can indeed build here a strong green movement.

Q: But even with such severe social problems, you still cannot be a leftist in Romania. Greens elsewhere are closer to the political left. A: It depends; the Greens usually consider themselves on the centre. The Romanian Green Party is centre-green.

Q: Yet the principles enounced on the website of the Green Party are not centre; they are calls for complete privatisation and express a strong faith in market economy. Is this changing? A: I am very sceptical that there is a political doctrine that is comprehensive enough to be sufficient by itself. Even if such a doctrine existed, in order for it to have an impact, the most important are the people engaging with the issues. If you pursue a certain ideology too much, you fall into reductionism. I am personally focused on human rights and freedoms and on democratic principles which make freedom possible for everyone. I am a secular humanist. I do give credit to the classical liberals that I have learnt from throughout my life, but I am very sensitive to environmental issues.

Q: Any social policies you particularly support? A: I think we need a series of policies which are coherent and focused on the medium and long term. Solutions are linked to making democracy and market economy work. Our economy is too burdened by preferential treatment of some companies and unnatural connections between the political and business environments. There is still too much corruption in Romania, leading to the impoverishment of many. One kilometre of highway in Romania is the most expensive in Europe. Social problems can be solved if the economy is finally unblocked. Too many public resources and natural resources are wasted irrationally and this leads many to poverty. Too many young people feel they have no opportunity. There are no coherent strategies to sustain small enterprises. Millions of Romanians have left because, if you do not belong to the political or economic elite, you have almost no chance. Everything is connected. For example, widespread corruption prevents enforcing environmental standards on big polluters.

Q: So what is needed really is the rule of law? A: We need the rule of law as a precondition for the functioning of democracy.

Q: What should regular people do make life in Romania better? A: Not be resigned. Fight for their rights and for the fundamental principles of democracy.

Q: But what are some channels of action for citizens? A: Perhaps this is common sense, but everyone should try to be good, in their sphere of activity and influence, be more open to dialogue. There is too much aggressiveness in big cities like Bucharest. We also need a strong civil society.

Since I ran for the elections, many people have contacted me to join the Green Party, so there is potential. Now we must work and mobilise people step-by-step. The main parties have lost their credibility, people vote them out of inertia, without real belief they will change something. We need a new kind of politics focused more on the dedication of politicians to follow the public interest and a way of politics that involves the citizens, because there is a desire for involvement even though there are not many means and opportunities for people to express their views and get involved.

Q: What did you make of the Polish position during the Copenhagen negotiations on climate change? A: The Polish have had pretty retrograde governments lately. The Romanian Green Party follows the position of the European Greens, calling for 30 percent reductions. But we must keep in mind that we always have to take into consideration what is feasible. For instance, in the case of financing for the environment, monitoring of the use of funds is very important. In Romania, environmental moneys from the EU have been used for other purposes.

Copenhagen was a disappointment. But the mobilisation of people was amazing. For citizen mobilisation, Copenhagen was a win and this pressure on authorities must be continued at the national and international level. I am afraid that by the time everyone agrees that something should be made for the environment, it will be too late.

Q: What are the three most important environmental issues in Romania at the moment? A: Deforestation, urban pollution and Rosia Montana (a village in Western Romania where the Canadian firm Gold Corporation plans a cyanide-based gold extraction project). Even though the Romanian courts of justice have passed various rulings against this exploitation, even though public opinion has expressed itself repeatedly against this project – which is deeply anti-environmental and very dangerous – the new government still wants to paint this project as a priority for the country.