Iuliu Maniu, the Gentleman of Romanian Democracy
Most people nowadays are wary of politicians. Today, when we say politics we hear corruption, opportunism, arrogance, and several other less than positive aspects of the human character.
Steliu Lambru, 14.01.2013, 13:05
And, as any rule has its exception to prove it, Iuliu Maniu was a politician to contradict any such suspicions.
He was born in 1873, in the north west of what is today Romania. He studied law, just like his father. His mother was the daughter of a Greek-Catholic priest. In 1896 he got his PhD in law from Vienna University. He took up politics early on, and signed up with the Romanian National Party. In 1906 he was elected to the Austro-Hungarian parliament. In 1916 he was drafted in the Austro-Hungarian army and stationed in Italy. In 1918, at the end of the war, he and several other Romanian leaders from Transylvania decided their province should unite with Romania. In 1926, together with Ion Mihalache, he founded the National Peasant Party, one of the most important party between the two world wars. Between 1918 and 1945, Maniu held three Prime Minister mandates. He was committed to democracy, and refused any kind of collaboration with both the fascist and the communist dictatorships. He was imprisoned by the latter in 1947 and died in jail when he was 75 years old, on February 5, 1953, in the notorious detention center in Sighet.
Iuliu Maniu was one of the most important figures in Romanian society in the first half of the 20th century. He was incorruptible, charismatic, tenacious, and in every way the man that Romania needed in its direst of times. He was fondly remembered, not only as a politician, but also as a special person. We will be providing you with two witness accounts of the man as seen by his contemporaries, testimonies recorded by Radio Romania’s Center for Oral History. Here is the account of Ioana Berindei, daughter of Ioan Hudita, National Peasant Party leader, recorded in 2000.
Ioana Berindei: “Maniu was a man of rare modesty. He was a kind man, with a warm voice. He visited us over lunch and saluted my sister and me very politely. Once I noticed he had a small spot on his lapel, and asked him if I could clean it up for him. He was very embarrassed. I told him these things happen, and asked to clean it up. He was quite sick at the time, so much so that he could barely sit in a chair, his knees hurt him all the time and he could barely walk. In spite of that, not once did I see him mad or upset. His calm demeanor reflected on everyone. As a politician he was intransigent. My father liked that, the fact that he would not budge an inch from his positions. Some ill-meaning people were saying he had a hard time making up his mind, but those were only cheap shots. Every politician has opponents, no one is perfect, and you can’t help having adversaries. I could not find one single flaw in him, and I’m not saying that because my father and I knew him and loved him. He opposed Carol II with all his might. When he realized all the mistakes that were made — when he came to Romania in 1930, all nice, with his tail tucked between his legs, only to let on what kind of a man he really was — Maniu was quite disenchanted. He brought him in, but then he admitted his error and opposed him very strongly.”
Sergiu Macarie, a National Peasant Party youth activist, spoke for our archives in 2000 as well. He spoke about the Soviet entry into Romania, which alarmed most Romanians who were aware of the threat. In spite of his old age and infirmity, Iuliu Maniu did not hesitate to get involved actively.
Sergiu Macarie: “Every other day we would have a clash with the communist gangs. There were larger and larger meetings, and we knew they were coming. Ilie Lazar, for instance, was one of the party leaders to take part in the clashes. We were gathering in Palace Square and we were hailing the king, who came out on the balcony among ovations and cheers. After that, every time, trucks filled with industrial workers with wooden staves came. On 15 May 1947 we were celebrating Barnutiu’s famous speech given on Freedom Field in Blaj, with Maniu in the crowd. All around the Atheneum there were cars full of workers with sticks. We barely got the chairman out, we opened a door in the back that was out of use, we broke it down to get him out.”
Iuliu Maniu was more than an honest politician. He was a symbol of democracy itself. Between 1944 and 1947, the weight of his name lent him the kind of confidence that was not limited to Romanians. Even Western leaders trusted him, and he was considered the most important element of the dialog with the Western partners. His intransigence earned him his death. It was a sacrifice that only a man of his stature could make, could accept, it was that sacrifice that put him on the map of 20th century history forever.
