Democratic Peasants' Party (Bukovina)

Democratic Peasants' Party Partidul Țărănesc Democrat Demokratische Bauernpartei
President	Aurel Onciul
Founded	1902
Dissolved	November 1918
Merged into	National Romanian Party (1905–1908) Christian Social (National) Party (1908–1911)
Headquarters	Czernowitz, Duchy of Bukovina, Austria-Hungary
Newspaper	Privitorul (1902) Voința Poporului (1902) Foaia Poporului (1911)
Paramilitary wing	Arcași
Ideology	Economic nationalism (Romanian, Austrian) Left-wing populism National liberalism Agrarianism Economic antisemitism Anticlericalism United States of Greater Austria
Political position	Left-wing
National affiliation	Freisinnige Verband (1903–1904) Progressive Peasants' Fellowship (1904–1905) Romanian Club (1914–1918)
Colours	White          Black, Yellow (Habsburg flag)

The Democratic Peasants' Party (Romanian: Partidul Țărănesc Democrat, PȚD; German: Demokratische Bauernpartei), also known as Democratic Party, Peasants' Party, National Democratic Party or Unirea Society, was a provincial party in Bukovina, Austria-Hungary, one of several groups claiming to represent the ethnic Romanians. It had a national liberal and left-wing populist agenda, and was mainly supported by "the peasants, the village teachers, and some of the intellectuals." Its leader was Aurel Onciul, seconded by Florea Lupu, both of whom were adversaries of the conservative and elitist Romanian National People's Party (PNPR). Rejecting sectarianism, the PȚD combined Austrian and Romanian nationalism, as Onciul argued that Romanian aspirations could only be fulfilled inside the multi-ethnic empire. For this reason, and for its role in dividing the Romanian vote, the party was often accused of double-dealing.

In 1902–1905, the PȚD pursued an alliance policy with politicians from the other ethnic groups—including, most controversially, Ukrainian nationalists. This resulted in the creation of a Progressive Peasants' Fellowship, which dominated the Diet of Bukovina and, in 1904, passed an electoral reform project drafted by Benno Straucher. Ethnic rivalries pushed the group back into sectarian politics before the legislative elections of 1907. The PȚD embraced economic antisemitism and, together with the PNPR, merged into Christian Social Romanian Party in 1908. It continued to have an autonomous existence, with its elite controlling Bukovina's state bank and Raiffeisen credit union. Its business practices nearly drove Bukovina's economy into insolvency, turning other Romanians against Onciul.

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