Apr 24, 2007 (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
FAZ published an analysis, on April 23 by Karl-Peter Schwarz, which directly accuse the anti-presidential coalition of actually triggering a coup against reformist Romanian President Traian Basescu. “As someone who places himself against ‘the system’ (even if he emerged from ‘the system’), Basescu wants a constitutional and a rule of law state in Romania,” said Schwarz.
"The Romanians are forced to choose between two former communists; between Adrian Nastase and Traian Basescu. After fifteen years, there is still no politician free of any communist behavior burden," frankly spoke Traian Basescu in a television debate before the Romanian presidential polls in the late autumn of 2004 - and he was probably for that reason preferred by the electorate.
As about their President, whom the Parliament wants now removed from office, the Romanians think he speaks bluntly and breaks the law of the silence. Someone (who even if emerged from “the system”) places himself against “the system” – Basescu wants a constitutional and a rule of law state in Romania.
A Constitutional Court ruling last week confirmed that Basescu’s presidential behaviour observed the fundamental law of the country and provided no reason to remove him from office. Certainly, there is something to “suspend” from Basescu’s behaviour – namely his hypertrophied ego, which is his major enemy. He speaks often faster than he thinks scarifying strategic issues for the sake of instant intuitions (…). However, all his personal limitations have nothing to do with the removal from office – Basescu was suspended because his progressive reforms, not because of his weaknesses. His opponents acted according to their sheer interests, because enforcing the rule of law state is not to peacefully cohabit with the protection the MPs need against any criminal investigation.
Since January 1, Romania is a full member state of the European Union. Those who had warned that the country the country was not yet prepared for the EU accession, see themselves now confirmed. For some weeks now, a parliamentary ‘coup’ is under way, aiming at subduing the legal framework to the influence of the government and the criminal network whose widespread interests include both the uncontrolled and the illegal appropriation of public means, such as financial frauds and money laundering.
In Romania, to a certain extent, the communists "denationalized themselves". Former ‘Securitate’ agents own big enterprises, control newspapers, broadcast and television stations and political parties also – like Dan Voiculescu, the chairman of the parliamentary commission, which accused Basescu of alleged constitutional breaches.
Removing President Basescu from office is already the second phase of the ‘cold coup d'etat’, which began in March. By then, PM Calin Popescu-Tariceanu imposed a Govt’s urgency ordinance in order to postpone the Euro-Parliamentary elections, initially set up for May 13. The reason for Tariceanu’s decision was that his National Liberal party feared a severe defeat. The pro-Basescu minister of interior and the justice minister refused to sign the bill. Tariceanu immediately wanted these ministers removed for insubordination.
Tariceanu eventually broke the Liberal-Democrat "Justice and Truth Alliance", and went for a reshuffled Cabinet. The formerly communist PSD, against which the alliance ran back in the 2004 general elections, honourd Tariceanus betrayal with the required parliamentary support of his minority government.
One remembers that the justice minister Monica Macovei and the minister of interior Vasile Blaga had to solve the country’s most difficult EU accession readiness tasks – i.e. the justice system reform, the set up of proper instruments for the fight against corruption and the borders security. The EU Commission, together with Romania’s President, backed the justice minister Macovei in order to implement laws for corruption containment, stricter than in any other country of the European Union. However, after the entry the European Union does not have effective argument in hand to press further development. The Romanian parliamentarians immediately made themselves to stop the reforms. After the sacking Macovei and suspending Basescu now the way is also free to get rid of the prosecutors and judges who actively act in the fight against top-level corruption. (…)
English transcription of analysis by Karl-Peter Schwarz in ‘Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’, April 23
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