The Expectations And Role Of The Volunteer In The Political Factions In Romania

The activity of the political factions appears to be strictly limited to the 30 days of electoral campaign to the general public but in reality this conception is far from the truth. Even if the activity of the electoral party is at its top during the campaign days the pre-campaign hustle starts with more than six months prior to the legal campaign and if we correlate this with the average of one campaign each year one can conclude that the political activity is permanent. Even if the main tasks are developed with or coordinated by the members of the party its group of sympathizers and volunteers (maybe pseudo volunteers) do the hardest field work and are responsible for making things happen. The article follows the activity of the volunteer throughout the electoral cycle: from the pre-campaign to the Election Day and beyond and aims at identifying the particularities that make the political environment special for those interested in volunteering. The article is based on an observation conducted from inside the campaign team doubled by a set of in depth interviews conducted among volunteers in the electoral campaign team and middle and top managers from the electoral party from 2010 to 2012. From the specific analysis the role of the volunteers and the importance of their presence is recognized by the middle management of the faction but they seem to be taken for granted by the top management. Even though they are indispensable for the performance of the faction, especially in the legal campaign their role is not quite clear in the minds of the decision makers and the present paper focuses on shining some light on this much discussed subject.