Aug 2, 2006 (
Liberal oil tycoon Dinu Patriciu publicly admitted that, during the general election campaign back in 2004, he sponsored the Social Democrat party (PSD) – the then main competitor of the Liberal-Democrat alliance.
Today, the controversial National-Liberal leader and businessman candidly declared to a ‘Realitatea TV’ reporter that two of his companies actually provided sponsorship to Social-Democrats and added there is no illegal action in doing so—more, Ptriciu said his companies’ sponsorships were meant to secure a certain balance between the main competing political forces (sic!).
This stupefying confession came following reports issued by some Romanian central daily newspapers which assumed that, during the 2004 election campaign, Patriciu provided PSD with four times more money than he gave his own National Liberal party—Patriciu’s firms ‘Odyssey Communication’ and ‘Global Security Consulting’ (subsidiaries of the ‘Rompetrol Holding’) donated some 2 billion ROL to Social-Democrats, as the ‘Official Monitor’ reads.
When hearing the news, prominent Liberal leaders showed no surprise. “Many Liberal businessmen admit that they know lots of companies which practiced this kind of two-ways financing,” Crin Antonescu said. “Following the local elections (2004, in summer) Patriciu even made the proposition for an alliance with Social-Democrats, therefore I not surprised,” the former Liberal boss Theodor Stolojan said.
Patriciu’s donation entered the PSD accounts eight months after the Social-Democrat PM Nastase provided a favourable solution regarding the debts of ‘Petromidia’ refinery (owned by Dinu Patriciu). Back in 2003, a Govt’s emergency ordinance transformed into t-bills (to be repaid in 20 years) debts worth some € 600 million.
Analysts say that as Patriciu controls the Liberal leadership there is no secret in why Liberals and Democrats are busy with endless disputes, even they represent the political ruling alliance in
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