The War of Words Started Ahead of the Campaign

After he made public his decision to run for the Presidency in the fall, PM Adrian Nastase, leader of the ruling Social Democrat Party (SDP), did not wait for the official start of the electoral campaign. Nastase attacked liberal Theodor Stolojan, one of his opponents in the race for the Cotroceni Palace [headquarters of the Presidency].

Nastase said yesterday that Stolojan had the support of the "mafia in the financial and banking system" and that he was "a puppet" of the Democrat Party (DP) leader, Traian Basescu.
"It would be a disaster to have the former Democratic Convention, current Alliance for Justice and Truth [of the National Liberal Party and DP], ruling Romania in the very important years 2005/2006, ahead of the European Union accession, " said Nastase.
He also stated that the "mafia in the financial and banking industries which is supporting Stolojan at the top of a team seeking political power would cause a lot of problems."
When asked which that mafia he was referring to was, Nastase said he does not want to go into details.

"The newspapers wrote a lot about these things and I am sure [the journalists] would have the curiosity to go back to their own analyses back in 1997/2000 [when the current opposition was holding power]," Nastase added.
He also said that he took the decision to run for the Presidency because he does not want to see his Executive accomplishments "go down the drain."
"We very well know that in fact Theodor Stolojan is a puppet of Traian Basescu. It would be embarrassing that such [a team] lacking personality, force and vitality would get to lead Romania at a time which is crucial for the fate of our country," said Nastase.

Nastase also took on the spokesman of the Alliance, saying that "Tariceanu makes a comment as soon as gets hold of a microphone. He has something to say on just about anything: if it rains or if it snows, if trains collide or if cars do; he is just ready to take on any subject," said Nastase. He also added that "Tariceanu exaggerates in his comments every decision or gesture the SDP makes."

Theodor Stolojan, the NLP leader, said that Nastase’s attack was "beyond the limit of decent behavior."
"Adrian Nastase fired the starting shot for the dirty [electoral] campaign," stated Stolojan. He added that he has no intention of picking up the glove thrown by the SDP leader in the mud.
"I would like to know if Nastase speaks the same way with Misters Schroeder, Putin and Bush, or if this circus is for the Romanian public only," asked the liberal leader.

Stolojan also said that Romanians want the candidates to the Presidency to be "wise and serious" but that Nastase was no different than Hrebenciuc, Iacobov, Vanghelie and other SDP barons. "You should be ashamed of what you are doing since the Presidency you are running for does not allow any one to lower the level of the debate," said Stolojan.