POLITICAL MYTHS – ELECTORAL TERMINOLOGY

Social Sciences and Education Research Review, Volume 12, Issue 2 – 2025 291 2025, vol. 12, issue 2, 291-293 SHORT COMMUNICATION https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17870725 POLITICAL MYTHS – ELECTORAL TERMINOLOGY Nicoleta Mihaela ȘTEFAN University of Craiova Abstract The present paper aims to present several aspects regarding the consequences that any socio-political change has on language. We will focus on the electoral field and will illustrate a few political myths that we consider exemplary and interesting, given the fact that electoral terminology has been brought back into use starting from 1990. Furthermore, we believe that linguists can select new research subjects by appealing to various textual forms characteristic of the current era. Keywords: sociology, marketing, electoral, myth, character Motto: Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Every interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation. (Noam Chomsky) 1. The years that have passed since the events of 1989 represent one of the most interesting periods in Romania’s contemporary history, a period that has led to profound changes both in the structure of society and in the lexicon. In this paper, we will focus on the electoral domain. Undoubtedly, we can say that electoral terminology was brought back into use following the historical events of December 1989. Thus, these 35 years have represented a period of removal of dogmas and socialist legal ideology, a time during which a new legal vision emerged through the appearance of new legal fields and, implicitly, new professions. As is well known, socialist society benefited from analyses of various kinds scientific, political, historical, and linguistic (Ilie Rad et alii, Limba de lemn în presă, p. 7-12). Most of the historical works appeared in the West and briefly presented certain extremely general characteristics, with most references being made to political control, censorship, economic dirigisme, and the absence of human rights, all framed within the context of “this is not how things should be.” Adopting Alfred Bulai’s opinion, “we do not believe that an objective scientific analysis could have existed in the first years following the political changes in the East, given the extremely ideological content present in any analysis of the past. But can we truly analyze the current development or, as we like to call it, the post-communist transition, without knowing precisely the point from which we started? Was the socialist electoral system, for example, merely a simple political formula devoid of social content?” (Alfred, Bulai, Mecanismele electorale ale societăţii româneşti, p.75), and we may add that, with regard to linguistic analysis as well, researchers’ attention could not have been directed toward the electoral domain, given the censorship that was a dominant feature of Romanian socialist society. Thus, it can be explained that, although the communist authorities declaratively promoted certain models that they did not actually implement, the population began to embrace these models starting in 1990. The first signs of this acceptance are evident in the fact that enterprise directors began to be elected and movements emerged for the removal of various leaders indicating that citizens were beginning to assume their role as electors. 2. Some of the exemplary figures of the long period following 1990 have led to the shaping of genuine political myths that we consider interesting and which we will present according to the opinions formulated by specialists in political marketing (Bogdan, Teodorescu, Dorina, Guţu, R.Enache, 2005, Cea mai bună dintre lumile posibile. Marketingul politic în România, p.198). Social Sciences and Education Research Review, Volume 12, Issue 2 – 2025 292 • The Absolute Evil. In the first moments after the Revolution, Nicolae Ceaușescu represented the embodiment of absolute evil. It is worth noting that this myth was linguistically highlighted for several months by writing his name without capital letters (Lavinia Betea, Limba de lemn de la Ceauşescu la Ion Iliescu, p.141-263). • The Father: Ion Iliescu. “The myth of the Father has two subtypes: the Founder (Romulus, Jesus, Muhammad, Negru Vodă, etc.) and the Keeper, for which the most accurate example is Moses. Moses has the mission of leading his people across the desert. He will see the Promised Land, but he will disappear the moment it is reached. Ion Iliescu’s destiny astonishingly matches this myth. In his youth, he was a friend/close to the Pharaoh (Ceaușescu). He rebelled against him (1971) and fled into the desert (the Technical Publishing House). He parted the waters in December 1989. He gave the tablets of the law (the Constitution). He wandered in the desert (the Văcăroiu government). The people eventually rebelled (1996) against Iosif Boda - for a long time a close collaborator of Ion Iliescu - who stated around 1995 an idea that seemed strange at the time: “Romania will emerge from transition when it no longer needs Ion Iliescu.” • The Saint of Romanian Politics: Corneliu Coposu. He managed to maintain the unity of the Convention, established himself as the leader of the opposition, and did not run for an official executive position. This figure is defined as a martyr. Among the elements that formed the basis of this image we note his suffering in communist prisons, his impeccable moral integrity, vision, political experience, and closeness to God. Coposu remains in the hearts of his supporters and admirers as a great advocate of tradition, integrity, and morality in politics. Corneliu Coposu is considered “a saint of politics, venerated by his followers and respected by his opponents.” Moreover, for a long time, both during his lifetime and after, his name was closely associated with that of the National Peasant Party. • The Rebellious Son: Petre Roman. He introduced into the collective imagination the type of leader full of vitality, young, charismatic and seductive exactly through the atypical image he displayed. He won over the public, being the youngest prime minister Romania has ever had, and became the quintessential symbol of a new world. “Petre Roman, moderate by nature and vocation, was born in the crucible of a major conflictual situation - the Revolution of ’89; he ended his term as prime minister amid a profound crisis - the miners’ riot of September 1991; and his election as FSN president took place in a context of conflict that led to the Front’s split.” The antithesis order - disorder defines this figure and explains the attitude the electorate had toward him in 2000, when, interpreting the results of the vote, it could be said that the presidential candidate Roman was largely ignored by voters. Mineriadă (“miners’ riot”) and destroyer of the economy are linguistic structures frequently used by the public whenever this political character is mentioned. • The Outlaw (Haiduc): Traian Băsescu. Traian Băsescu experienced a constantly ascending political career serving as Minister of Transport, Member of Parliament, Mayor General of Bucharest, and eventually attaining the highest office in the state, becoming President of Romania in 2004 and being re-elected in the second round in 2008. A conflictual personality, Traian Băsescu stood out both before opinion-makers through his comments often lacking verbal and behavioral diplomacy and also in front of the public, given the measures he imposed after assuming office. Linguistically, this resulted in the popularization of expressions and phrases such as Băsescu Tax or Winter is not like summer. Moreover, during the electoral campaign, he frequently used metaphorical language. At one point, Romania was a ship, and Traian Băsescu was the captain steering it toward the shore. Hence the specialists’ choice to associate him with the “outlaw” archetype: “The Outlaw is that character who asserts himself on the political stage not through institutional belonging, but through a direct way of acting, without restraint, typical of the common people from whom he comes. His popular success stems from his ability to corner the boyars (politicians) in an unequivocal, brutal, and mocking way, thus appealing to the ordinary citizen frustrated by social inequalities and tensions. The Outlaw will never be an aristocrat, but neither will he be a negotiator (one of President Băsescu’s striking lines was: ‘The president does not ask, the president demands!’).” • The Technocrat: Theodor Stolojan. The credibility he enjoyed, associated with his status as a technocrat, defines and supports Theodor Stolojan as an exemplary figure on the Romanian political scene, a character who, in the view of political marketing specialists, “chose to withdraw from history.” • Feminisms. Feminisms represent both the support and the mirror of masculine myths. In Western societies, feminism is a doctrine that benefits from solid theoretical concepts and strong representation in public debate. At first, feminism meant bringing women to the forefront and supporting them in achieving a higher social status. If the male politician assumed the qualities of masculinity, the same was not true for the female politician, who was forced to detach herself from the qualities of femininity, as femininity was regarded as a non-value. Thus, until 1990, in Romania, the prevailing myth was that of the Comrade’s Wife (Elena Ceaușescu). The situation is entirely different today, when the following typologies are discussed: the Martyr Woman (Doina Cornea); the Woman Who Uses Her Femininity (Mona Muscă, Rodica Stănoiu, Elena Udrea); the Absent Woman (Nina Iliescu, Social Sciences and Education Research Review, Volume 12, Issue 2 – 2025 293 Nadia Constantinescu); and the Non-Feminine Politician (Ecaterina Andronescu, Norica Nicolai, Monica Macovei, Zoe Petre). 3. Summarizing the ideas presented, we support the opinion that a permanent relationship of interdependence is established between the evolution of language and the socio-political changes of a society, a relationship that can constitute, at any time, especially in the present period, an interesting and useful object of linguistic research. Language largely reflects all social changes by mirroring the effects these have on the speakers’ way of thinking and expressing themselves, in accordance with its own internal norms. Within this broad framework, linguists can select new research subjects by turning to various textual forms characteristic of the present era such as the electoral domain, which we have also examined in this study. REFERENCES Ilie Rad et alii, 2009, Limba de lemn în presă, Bucureşti, Editura Tritonic. Alfred, Bulai, 1999, Mecanismele electorale ale societăţii româneşti, Bucureşti, Editura Paideia, Colecţia Știinţe Sociale. Bogdan, Teodorescu, Dorina, Guţu, R.Enache, 2005, Cea mai bună dintre lumile posibile. Marketingul politic în România – 1990-2005 (curs (post)universitar), Bucureşti, Comunicare.ro. Lavinia Betea, „Limba de lemn de la Ceauşescu la Ion Iliescu”, în Ilie Rad et alii, 2009, Limba de lemn în presă, Bucureşti, Editura Tritonic.