From: mihai@sep.Stanford.EDU (Alexander Mihai Popovici)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.romanian
Subject: Romanian humor
Date: 12 Nov 1992 21:40:21 GMT
Organization: Stanford Exploration Project
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: oas.stanford.edu

	
 UPI NewsFeature
	
	BUCHAREST, Romania (UPI) -- Black humor seems to be the tension-
reliever of choice these days in post-red Romania.
	For instance: ``Comrade, your skirt is too short''; or, ``Stand up
straight. Don't slouch''; or ``Remember, it is an honor to work.''
	Those remarks, funny by Romanian standards, were overheard in the
office of the country's best-selling opposition daily newspaper.
	The ``jokesters'' see nothing amusing in the victories of many former
communists and nationalists in recent elections and irony is one of
their few defenses.
	Since the victory of one-time communist Ion Iliescu in the Oct. 11
presidential election with a decisive 61 percent of the vote,
journalists at Evenimentul Zilei harken back sardonically to the
communist system that ruled their country for almost five decades.
	A former top-ranking communist, the 62-year-old Iliescu no longer
advocates communism, but his critics claim he is tainted by a ``red''
past they are determined to put behind them.
	``Democracy is for the capitalists. We are real communists. We just
took two years off,'' said Horea Tabacu, the head of the newspaper's
social section, mocking a ``model comrade.''
	Tongue-in-cheek notices have sprung up in the newspaper offices
reminding workers to dress decently, proposing to print the newspaper in
Russian, and calling for abortion to be outlawed. They are reminders of
historic dictates that the newspaper -- and all the opposition press --
would rather consign to the dustheap of history.
	When times are hard, the humor heats up. And Romania knows about hard
times.
	The oppressive Nicolae Ceausescu regime certainly was not funny, but
it spawned the best jokes (Why is the Romanian language so easy to
learn? Because every third word is ``Ceausescu.'')
	Journalists at Evenimentul Zilei say they have begun to revive many
old communist associations, including the Pioneers, a communist youth
organization. They have even begun to transfer memberships from the
newly formed Michael Jackson fan club to the pioneers.
	Magdalena Manea, who leads various women's associations, explained
the reasons behind what would seem an exaggerated joke.
	``This is a very difficult period,'' she said. ``We are in the midst
of troubled waters and this is a Romanian way of dealing with the
situation.
	Many share her view. Even President Iliescu, whose left-wing party,
the Democratic National Salvation Front, is the largest party in
Parliament with around 28 percent of the seats, has been sparing with
victory speeches.
	Parliament is split. There is speculation that the opposition, the
17-party anti-communist alliance called the Democratic Convention, will
not join a new government. And the alternative partner, a coalition with
ultra nationlist who have about 13 percent of the seats, would alienate
vital Western aid and investment.
	A refusal by the U.S. House of Representatives to grant Romania the
coveted Most Favored Nation status of trade concessions did nothing to
improve the public mood.
	Romania also has a problem with his image abroad. Premier Theodor
Stolojan could barely contain his rage on discovering that half of a
recent western television report was devoted to showing images of
communist ``heroes'' such as Marx and Lenin, which had been discovered
by the TV crew in storage.
	``When foreign delegates come here, they are shocked that the country
is much better than its image'' said Stolojan, who is popular with
western diplomats for his handling of the economy.
	But the reform program has high social costs. The 8 percent
unemployment and 200 percent inflation are no joke for Romania's 23
million population. Yet when Iliescu or Stolojan voice concern at the
social problems caused by the transition to a market economy, cries of 
``communist'' appear the next day in the domestic and foreign press.
	Asked what he thought of the election results, the editor of
Evenimentul Zilei, whose paper is booming in the new capitalist society,
quipped: ``We are joyful,'' and the staff applauded him.
	It is just like the old days when the great dictator, Ceausescu, was
applauded by his stiff-necked comrades.
	It may be a joke -- but a sense of humor seems vital in Romania these
days.