Patriotism under the sign of GOLD. Adrian Papahagi: “How can you justify the love of country by praising Romania's main enemies?”

George Simion was present on Monday, in Alba Iulia, on the occasion of the National Day. Dressed in a traditional cassock, the AUR leader attended a rally in the city of Marii Uniri, alongside several hundred party members and supporters, who waved tricolor flags and chanted for national “sovereignty”. It is an image that AUR stages regularly, in an attempt to politically capitalize on the patriotic trend ignored by mainstream political parties.

George Simion in Alba Iulia, on the occasion of Romania's National Day

In other words, “who is not with us is against Romania”, a refrain often used in recent years. The fact that George Simion and the other AUR leaders regularly self-proclaim their patriotism does not make them more patriotic, notes professor Adrian Papahagi, who emphasizes, in an analysis for “Adevărul”, that true patriotism is measured by a man's deeds.

“First of all, honest patriotism is, in my opinion, one of gestures, of people who do good around them, without shouting all day that they are patriots and without printing the word “patriot” on their T-shirts, as Simion does, so that we also understand that he is a patriot. If he didn't have it on his T-shirt, we wouldn't catch it. So patriotism is not proclaimed, just as honesty is not proclaimed. You don't go all the way day on the street and say “I'm honest, I'm honest, I'm honest.” They don't claim, I have no idea, virility. You don't go around all day and say “I'm a real man”, or other things aren't claimed, right? So when you start screaming all day that you are a patriot, something is already suspicious. That's the first warning sign, I'd say, that people should heed,” says Adrian Papahagi.

“What did Simion do for Romania?”

Beyond the speech, the professor questions the professional biography of the AUR leaders. He points out the contrast between a patriot who contributes to the common good through work and a politician who has made agitation his sole occupation.

“Secondly, a true patriot is a man who, as I said, did something good for the country. I would like to know what Simion did good for the country. Did he create an enterprise? Did he raise a family? No, he made an electoral one, now, at the last minute. Did he have an extraordinary job that created value? I have no idea. He built houses for people, healed the sick, taught young people, grew a company, mentored… Did he do important research? With what Did he sell in a store? What did Simion do for Romania? What did all these people do for Romania? asks Adrian Papahagi rhetorically.

The paradox of alignment with Russia

One of the most serious reproaches brought by Adrian Papahagi concerns the geopolitical incoherence of those who call themselves “great patriots”. The professor notes the fact that, although they declare themselves defenders of the nation, they systematically align themselves with the interests of Russia, a state that the professor identifies as the only real and historical enemy of Romania.

“The third thing is to see, obviously, what ideas they promote in the public space. Romania has only one clear enemy. And, moreover, not only Romania, all of Europe and especially Eastern Europe. This clear enemy is the aggressor in Ukraine: Russia. It is the country that occupied us in 1945, that forced us to endure a sinister, criminal, illegitimate, thieving, totalitarian, stupid communist regime that impoverished us between 1945 and 1989. It is the country that broke Moldova, plus Bugeacul from the body of Romania. It is a country that, together with Hitler's Germany, does not hide its hatred towards Europe, towards Romania. It is the country that sends its drones here, to violate the Romanian airspace.

Or the great patriots of Romania are, in every political file, on every topic, fully allied, aligned with Russia, yes? In the denigration of Ukraine, in the cursing of the West, in the slander of the European Union, which, until one time, did not bombard us with drones, as Russia does in Ukraine, but only “bombarded” us with billions of euros with which we repaired our schools, hospitals, churches and built some streets and capitalized a little more this country plundered by the communists”. shows the university professor.

The hypocrisy of religious discourse

The professor also attacks the way AUR uses religious symbolism, arguing that it is impossible to love the Church while promoting a rhetoric similar to that of the regime that persecuted the faith.

“Then, true patriotism means respecting the values of this nation. They claim, for example, that they love the Church, the faith. Well, how can you love the Church and the faith when you make a speech in which you hear Ceaușescu, the biggest church destroyer, the leader of an atheistic regime, who killed a lot of priests of all denominations – and not only priests, of course, but also believers – in communist prisons? How can you you justify patriotism, love of language, love of faith by praising Romania's main internal and external enemies, that is: communism, all totalitarianism, and, on the other hand, Russia. So this is the great patriotism of the AUR. There is no more anti-national and anti-patriotic movement than the AUR, in my opinion.” emphasizes Adrian Papahagi.

The responsibility of traditional parties

Papahagi admits, however, that the rise of extremism in the patriotic corridor is based on a strategic error of the parties mainstreamespecially of the PNL, which abandoned the legitimate national discourse, leaving a dangerous vacuum.

“Yes, without a doubt. And I've been saying this for a very long time, since I got involved in public life in Romania – so for about fifteen years. The National Liberal Party forgot that it also has that “N” from “national” in its title. It tried to be a state party, like the PSD, to deal exclusively with administration and redistributing public resources, instead of having a patriotic, national speech, which is necessary in any nation. They neglected conservative values. This speech, of course, was strongly discredited by the communists, but it was important to do it with decency, in a European spirit, because you know that the English also love their country, and the Germans are happy when they hear someone speaking German patriots, let us like our country, or at least love it, try to make it better, more beautiful, cleaner, speak our language with care and pleasure, and so on.

So yes, it was neglected, and unfortunately, on this boulevard left free, a movement emerged, in my opinion, created by some security labs. A kind of revenge for Adrian Năstase's PSD and all the losers and prisoners. An absolutely anti-national movement, willing at any time to betray Romania, to play the games of Russia, China, anyone, just so that a gang of people who have been removed from politics due to their corruption have control over the country again. mentions the university professor.

Patriotism was not confiscated

In closing, Adrian Papahagi offers an optimistic perspective. He believes that AUR is just trying to capture the theme, but it is failing in front of the majority of Romanians who reject extremism.

“They didn't confiscate him, they try to seize him. He can't be confiscated, because there aren't some who are more Romanian than others. When they say that the Romanian people elected Georgescu, they forget that Georgescu was elected by only twenty percent of the fifty percent who showed up for a poll. So ten percent of the Romanians, so about two million. There are twenty or so million of us in the country, and even more abroad. So, in no this aggressive minority, spearheaded by a hysterical, totalitarian, Putinist party, does not represent the Romanian people. In the elections that followed, it was a real, tough competition, but I am sorry that they did not win – as proof that the Romanian people, who expressed themselves democratically at the polls, do not want them. That they have agitations is another matter.

So no, they didn't confiscate. And what we have to do is, from my directional point of view, to do the pedagogy of values, to explain the differences, and like any Romanian to say: “We're sorry, it's not just your country, it's our country too. There are enough of us here who want civilization, Europe, democracy with the West, not with Russia» and so on. concluded Adrian Papahagi.

Adrian Papahagi is a conservative intellectual, university professor and essayist, known for his firm positions in defense of the values ​​of tradition, classical culture and European identity. Active in the public space and in the publishing environment, he is one of the most influential conservative voices in Romania.