Geoana’s Cross

It is tough to be a party member. The interests of the party would always go above those of its individual members. It is almost like in the army, where "the order is to be followed, not to be questioned." This is even truer when the party is in dire need …
And when is it that the party is not in dire need?! The ruling Social Democrat Party (SDP) needed to find a solution to the crisis opened with the dismissal of Rodica Stanoiu from her position of justice minister. Irrespective of the support President Ion Iliescu extended to Mrs. Stanoiu, it was obvious PM Adrian Nastase would be called to make a decision, and yet that decision was not well thought over.

The way out of the crisis was found to be the promotion of a young diplomat, Cristian Diaconescu, in the seat vacated by Mrs. Stanoiu. To some observers of Romanian politics, this was more like a brief intermission in the career of a diplomat, than the unexpected promotion granted to someone I incidentally like.
The political clout the members of the diplomatic corps have is faint more often than not. Tough, but this is how life is.

This is why the surprise bid of Mircea Geoana (TR. NOTE: current minister of foreign affairs) to the mayor’s office in the Bucharest City Hall was translated by many to mean yet another party-move for a cover-up of a crisis. The party placed high stakes on the good name Geoana made for himself when he got credit for a series of good performances in foreign affairs issues.

The question still begs: did the SDP genuinely hopped for the accurate and mild-mannered Geoana to win the mayor’s seat in the Bucharest City Hall? It is hard to know for sure.
As for Mr. Geoana, I am sure the question haunting him was not: "What am I going to do, will I not win the elections?, but "What am I going to do, if I do win the elections?"

It is not for me to feel sorry for this or that candidate, but one question stays: is it wise to divert the professional life of professionals only to get the party out of the doldrums?
And how come a powerful party like the SDP was not able to find valid candidates for both the positions of minister of justice and Bucharest city mayor in any place other then the ranks of the diplomatic corps?

President Ion Iliescu stated that it was good for Mircea Geoana to get the experience of running in these local elections, calling the latter’s defeat "a useful experience for building up a political career."
Mr. Iliescu is right: we all agree that what does not kill you will make you stronger.
The only thing is that some party methods deployed for toughening up its young could have a perverse outcome, and those subjected to it will come to have true identity crises.

Prior to elections day, boisterous political analysts tried to guess what was on the party’s "mind" and what was in Geoana’s hart. In the aftermath of the elections, same pundits tried to understand how did manage candidate Mircea Geoana to be so tame and unlike the well-known typical character of the Romanian candidate ...

In the mean time, though, the SDP answered to these questions. Look at the front-page photo, showing a huge billboard of Geoana, placed right under an advertisement for Johnny Walker. When they got wind of the huge mistake, the Ku-Klux-Klan-like party staff painted a huge white cross right on top of Geoana’s head.

This must have been a clear sign, visible even from Washington and Brussels, that local baron (TR. NOTE: name the Romanian media coined to call the local powerful leaders of the SDP) Mischie is not in the wings to take over the top position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The subliminal thinking of political parties brings to one as much surprise as the subconscious thinking of the individuals …