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There is a new political trend on the horizon, and it’s being led by Romania, of all countries. Not only has the former communist country recently been accepted into the European Union, but the Romanian president has been stealing headlines with his unorthodox charisma and his “pop-star air.”
An article from The Associated Press by William J. Kole describes a night at the Golden Blitz club with Romania’s Trajan Basescu. The article describes him as “unbuttoned, unorthodox, some say unpresidential.” The United States, as well as other countries, could take a note from Mr. Basescu. As sad as it may be, politics does not interest everyone. According to census numbers, about 64 percent of voting-age citizens turned out for the 2004 election – not just any election, the presidential election. That means that 36 percent of the people of voting age had no interest in voting for the president of the United States.
Now, let’s look at Trajan Basescu – he seems to have his finger on the pulse of “the scene,” and is a suave guy. He’s pretty much like Don Johnson during the days of “Miami Vice” – only political.
No U.S. president or presidential candidate – possibly excluding John F. Kennedy – has had a persona even remotely like this one.
This is a strange way for a leader to act, especially considering that just 17 years ago this country was under a strict communist rule. In 1989, Romania abolished communism and has now become my favorite semi-presidential democratic republic. This was clearly a country that was ready for a change – and now it may have gotten a little more than it bargained for.
Now, the United States has been free for about a couple hundred years now, and we have never had a president act quite like Mr. Basescu. During the 1992 election, the media made a big fuss over Bill Clinton playing the saxophone on Arsenio Hall’s show. With this act, Clinton reached out to a younger voter demographic, but that pales in comparison to what Basescu is doing. He is down in the city mingling with the people – his voters and supporters – in style.
In another attempt, Sen. John McCain stiffly worked his way through an episode of Saturday Night Live in 2002. It just wasn’t that funny; it was another bland attempt for a politician to get the attention and love of the public. Unfortunately, many politicians are already too disconnected from the public to understand what people are interested in. And the media wonder why the voting statistics are not as high as they should be.
Basescu is clearly connected to the public. He has presented himself to the people as a man who loves his job – and the Romanian people. What Basescu is doing should be supported. He’s getting attention and people seem to love him, what more could a president ask for? For the first time in my life, I have the pleasure to say “I love Romanian politics.”
Joel Crabtree is the Don Johnson of journalism.
