Its name, message and symbols were overt references and homages to Ion Luca Caragiale, the classical Romanian humorist; building on an inside joke, its agenda praised opportunism and even encouraged members to leave the party.
However, the PLS was also criticized for its alleged links with the ruling National Salvation Front (FSN), and for being one of the many groups which split the vote in the general election of 1990 and local ones of 1992.
At various times, its rank-and-file included comedian Dem Rădulescu, scholar Alexandru Călinescu, and singer-songwriter Doru Stănculescu, as well as scores of others of literary and artistic professionals.
Changes in the electoral legislation signaled its decline—a rapid one, after Cazimir had endorsed Ion Iliescu and the Democratic National Salvation Front agead of general elections in 1992.
[3] In the original text, it already appears as a malapropism and double entendre: one of the key characters, Nae Cațavencu, declares himself liber schimbist, technically "a supporter of free trade", but this can also be read as "easy changer"—one who changes views or convictions easily, without scruples.
[8] Looking part on the first post-revolutionary years in 2010, philologist Mona Momescu argues that the abundance of references to Caragiale—present with both the PLS as a "literary party" and the unrelated humor magazine, Academia Cațavencu—showed that Romanians had not yet abandoned the practice of "cultural resistance", which had been favored by communist-era dissidents.
[4] The party hymn, called Mărire vouă, lupte seculare ("Glory to Thee, Combats of Centuries"),[10] ended with another paraphrase from O scrisoare...: Trădare fie, dar s-o știm și noi!
[15] For a while, the PLS was attractive to intellectuals who had come to resent the FSN, such as the literary historian Alexandru Călinescu—who joined the party because he intended to highlight the "comedy" of Romanian politics.
[14] With Cazimir as president, seconded by Gheorghe Boșman, the party held its first congress at Cervantes High School, Bucharest, shortly before the May 1990 general elections.
[7] Unlike these highly localized projects, the PLS ran candidates in 26 precincts, and formed small but active county organizations—according to Cazimir, these were mostly run by divorcée ladies.
"[4] In his Pruteanu interview, he noted being serious about capturing the vote: "our main effort at the present time is not the recruitment of new members, but the earning of electoral sympathies and trust.
At times, he also expressed mild criticism of the FSN as the party of "dead roses", and commented negatively on the June 1990 Mineriad, braving threats of violence from the Front's working-class electorate.
[21] Journalist George Baltac believes that the PLS "deliberately" helped the FSN to fragment the PNȚCD's voting weight with "an explosion of minuscule parties."
Speaking for the PLS, Cazimir ridiculed the move in a widely quoted, television interview: observing that the FSN had 66% of parliamentary seats, with all other 15 parties only holding the remainder, he declared that a coalition government would have resembled "Gulliver and 15 dwarfs".
[23] Late that year, Theodor Stolojan, the Prime Minister-designate, held talks with all parliamentary parties, including the PLS, in an effort to secure backing for his own government team.
[4] At Iași, the PLS endorsed Mandache Leocov of the Romanian Democratic Convention for the mayoral office; its list for the local council was headlined by physician René Corneliu Duda,[28] who managed to obtain a seat.
[30] In the presidential and parliamentary elections of September, Iliescu tried out for a second term as President of Romania, with backing from the Democratic National Salvation Front (FDSN).
[31] On August 26, three of four members of the PLS permanent bureau (Boșman, Cornișteanu, and Vasile Groza) went public with their opposition to this move, attributing it to Cazimir as the fourth man.
[34] Cazimir appeared on the FDSN list of candidates for a Bucharest precinct,[35] and later joined the consolidated pro-Iliescu group, eventually called Social Democratic Party (PSD).
[4][6][36] Writing in 1999, Ștefănescu suggested that Cazimir had never properly explained his own defection: "at some point he dropped his joking with the PLS and transferred toward [the PSD], a party that has led Romania into a position which is not at all joyful.
[37] The PLS–PSD continuity was highlighted by journalist Dumitru Tinu, who attended the PSD conference of January 1997, where he reported hearing Cazimir "free-changing clowning" (clovnerii liber-schimbiste), played out in front of a new public.