Caught In the Act of Thinking

Vasile Bercan, whose last known job was that of deputy minister in the Transportation Ministry, got his one minute of fame when he was sacked by PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu.

Bercan’s short-lived ministerial career ended when he was caught in the act of thinking.

I do not personally know Mr. Bercan, and had he been silent as a fish, I would have probably never heard of him ever in my life.

But he suddenly became a dear friend of mine when he publicly expressed his surprise at statements of PM Tariceanu, who said that the contract sealed with the American company Bechtel may be terminated by the Romanian party.

"All I can state is that at this moment the Bechtel contract (for building a highway in Western Romania) is valid and talks are underway for its continuation," were Bercan’s fateful words which so much infuriated Tariceanu.

But what was wrong with a statement stemming from logic and good common sense?

Nothing. Only that Tariceanu is jumpy and does not take easy dissenting voices.

Recalling his reaction when he told people affected by floods that he had neither the time, nor the money or the will to build them accommodations, I am glad he did not resort to personally punch Mr. Bercan in the face.

The official reason for sacking Bercan was that he "did not comply with the work discipline inside the Executive." But is "discipline" tantamount to not honoring a contract? If yes, then Tariceanu should be neither a businessman, nor a member of the Liberal Party.

If keeping your mouth shut is the sign of being disciplined, then Emil Boc (the mayor of the Western city of Cluj-Napoca) and Marko Bela (the leader of the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, in the ruling coalition) should be burned to the stake for mentioning the importance of the work to the Transylvania Highway.

While William H. Nash III, undersecretary of state in the United States’ Department of Commerce, must have been extremely impolite to mention, when meeting the PM, how important was for the Americans the completion of the contract. Then Tariceanu had no negative comments, but this must have been because he is a man well known for his politeness …

Bercan had a big fault, however, that he was a member of the Democrat Party (also member of the ruling coalition).

This party is not too happy that the National Liberal Party tries to exert control over the ruling coalition, and also makes it a rule to not support Tariceanu when President Traian Basescu shows he is unhappy with the level of performance the PM had on the job.

So, to be a member of the coalition partner party and a man who thinks with his own head: that’s a dangerous combination for the head of the Executive.