Political Limbo

Romania, Volume 98
12.08.2005

The rift between Romania's president and prime minister has continued to widen recently, with the country facing uncertainty over future elections and its ability to meet EU accession targets.
On August 11, President Traian Basescu again accused the government of performing badly, saying that it has not lived up to its promises on health, energy and commercial legislation.

However, he then said that he wanted a "genuine partnership" with Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, but that the premier should choose "between Romania's president and vested interests outside the government". The president's public accusation that the government is being influenced by lobbies and vested interests was also followed up by a warning to Romania's Executive Committee for European Integration that members of the government could endanger the EU accession process by falling prey to such influence.

The dispute is all the more damaging as both President Basescu and Prime Minister Popescu-Tariceanu are members of the same ruling Justice and Truth Alliance (DA), whose main parties are Basescu's Democratic Party (PD) and Popescu-Tariceanu's National Liberal Party (PNL). In response to Basescu's accusations, the prime minister requested the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) investigate the matter. But as of August 12, the information provided by the SRI had reportedly not indicated any such problem among members of the current government. Meanwhile, at the August 10 meeting of DA leaders, the PNL requested a special "clarification" meeting between Basescu and the prime minister. The proposal was turned down by the PD.

This infighting comes after months of political ambiguity over the country's government, exacerbated recently by the prime minister resigning in July and then retracting his resignation. Popescu-Tariceanu originally resigned after the constitutional court blocked judicial reforms demanded by the EU. He then retracted his resignation in response to severe flooding, which killed some 20 people and plunged many areas of the country into crisis, as well as pressure from Brussels over the EU accession schedule. Romania has to work especially hard to try and institute reforms required for its EU membership, scheduled for January 1, 2007. The recent rejections of the European Constitution in France and the Netherlands have left Romania uncertain of its accession prospects. The margin of error has thus narrowed, and most see a strong, focused government as necessary to achieve the political and economic changes required to stick with the accession timetable. Romania faces the possibility of having its membership delayed until 2008 if reforms are not carried through to the EU's satisfaction.

Faced with this, the President, popularly elected in December 2004, has been campaigning for early parliamentary elections since January 2005. He believes that calling another ballot would end current weaknesses in the government and improve coherence and efficiency in preparing for EU accession. His criticism of the government's performance focused particularly on health, customs and energy. Speaking to the press on August 11, he called on the government to introduce laws on hospital managers which would prohibit them from becoming parliamentarians, presidents of health insurance institutions or managers of clinics.

This, he claimed, was necessary to prevent conflicts of interest. He also called for a shake up of the customs authorities, "to change the persons put in place by the outgoing power with persons put in place by the current power". He then attacked what he saw as a lack of free competition in the energy market. The prime minister had earlier addressed these issues, however, telling reporters after the DA meeting on August 10 that "I have more than once publicly stated that the healthcare system is inefficient and I am glad that the President agrees that a sweeping change in this system is badly needed. I am preoccupied, much as the President is, with eradicating corruption from customs houses. I am interested that the privatisation measures, including those for [petroleum company] Petrom, achieve the objectives initially assigned to them and that they are not high jacked."

The PNL and the prime minister do not accept the need for early elections either. This view was backed up by recent opinion polls, which have shown that around 60% of Romanians eligible to vote do not desire a fresh ballot. Basescu has countered that the opinion poll merely reflects a lack of sufficient explanation for why early elections are necessary. Yet PNL spokesman Eugen Nicolaescu said at an August 10 news conference that snap elections would be an extreme measure, and that there are many other ways to solve the current political instability. He also said there would be no negotiations with the opposition Social Democrat Party (PSD) regarding the current make-up of the government.

Some analysts say that the current dispute is intensifying as a series of crucial EU and European Commission reports on Romania gets nearer. If the Commission report in the autumn on Romania's reform process is unsatisfactory, many predict that the President will blame the prime minister and use the opportunity to oust him. But as both men have a great deal of support behind them in the government, it seems that this manoeuvring will potentially only result in a stalemate, which can hardly be beneficial to the pace of Romania's EU reforms.

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