Romanian Prime Minister Entrapped In Scheme He Designed For The President

The fight opposing Romania’s prime minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu, leader of the National Liberal Party, and President Traian Basescu, formerly leader of the Democrat Party, made an intended victim in Dan Voiculescu, the leader of the Conservative Party.

Voiculescu was found guilty to have collaborated with the communist intelligence services by a raise of hands in the eight-member authority for studying the files of the former Securitate.

"Raise of hands" is the buzz word now, since the opinion of the eight sage men can override any lack of material evidence.

This came about by way of a government ordinance which Tariceanu drafted in order to nail down Basescu, as former collaborator of the Securitate.

Only that Voiculescu was the one to first take the fall.

Basescu, as former ship-captain, was required by the communist-time laws to file statements on the activity of his subordinates while abroad. But he had no formal collaboration agreement with the Securitate.

Tariceanu’s government ordinance, still to get through Senate in order to turn into law, extended the scope of the definition given to a collaborator.

Before, to be labeled as former Securitate informant material evidence was needed, as a formal consent to collaborate or proof of pay.

The amendments to the law brought in by the government ordinance made the material evidence irrelevant, and left the decision up to the subjective judgment of eight men raising their hands in a vote.

They can base their judgment now on reports of operative Securitate officers, which many times filed questionable documents into their files.

Tariceanu and his friends in the liberal party claimed the changes to the law for studying the Securitate files will further cleanse society, while they were actually taking aim at Basescu.

The latter discarded previous allegations with showing he had no formal agreement to collaborate with the Securitate on his name.

The backlash of Voiculescu’s political execution is that he will take out his Conservative Party from the four-party ruling coalition, and that will in turn bring down Tariceanu’s government.

Or the backlash will be that the conservatives will still stay with the ruling coalition, and Tariceanu will be again in a no win situation, since his political foes will point out at him for having banded with a former Securitate collaborator to stay in office.

So, it looks like Basescu had the last laugh…

It was for him to take the fall what Tariceanu intended, but now it is for Tariceanu to consider a safe landing in what looks like a sure political fall for him.

Translated by Anca Paduraru