The belief that the Tatarescu government will shortly be replaced by an anti-Semitic right-wing coalition led by Prof. Octavius Goga and Dr. Alexander Vaida-Voevod is gaining ground in political circles here.
While the left-wing National Peasants Party is the strongest opposition group, leaders of the right-wing parties have subordinated personal animosities and have begun negotiations looking toward formation of a conservative electoral bloc.
The purpose of the proposed coalition is to defeat the National Peasants Party. Among those participating in the negotiations are Prof. Alexander Cuza, Prof. Goga, Dr. Vaida-Voevod, Argetoiano, Codreano and Manoilesco.
Another factor endangering the chances of the democratic National Peasants Party is the ill-feeling between its leader, ex-Premier Maniu, and King Carol. Dr. Maniu recently started a vigorous campaign against the King’s private advisers and friends. There is little doubt that if Carol had to choose between the democratic group and the semi-Nazi bloc — most of whose leaders are his personal friends — he would prefer the latter.
According to Rumanian constitutional practice, when the Government resigns, the King entrusts with formation of a cabinet the party he deems fit to rule the country. This party “makes” the elections, and no party in power has ever lost at the polls. Thus, choice of a government actually lies with the King.
Viorel Tillea, right-hand man of ex-Premier Vaida-Voevod and one of the founders of the Nazi “Rumanian Front,” told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency correspondent that while the right-wing bloc stood the best chances of forming the next cabinet, the anti-Semitic program of the coalition would have to be diluted and replaced by the “numerous proportionalis” formula.
This formula pretends net to eliminate completely the Jews from Rumania’s economic and professional life but provides that they should be allowed to earn their existence “in proportion to the total number of pure-blooded Rumanians.”
In other words, if an enterprise has 100 employees, 80 must be Rumanians, 8 Hungarians, 4 Germans, 4 Jews and 4 of other minorities of Rumanian citizenship. This proportion represents the ratio of the various nationalities to the Rumanian majority.
Since most Rumanians, Hungarians and Germans are farmers while the Jews are town-dwellers, “numerous proportionalis” means, in reality, the economic ruin of the Jewish citizens.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
