Romanians to their former ‘orange’ hero: “Come out, ordinary mutt!” [Românii către fostul lor erou ‘portocaliu’: “Ieşi afară, javră ordinară!”]

What has been a common sight of the past years – in some corners of the EU (Greece, Italy), in countries from EU’s periphery (Georgia), in several Arab states (Egypt, Libya) and to a lesser extent in Russia – is finally taking place in Romania.

People are taking their anger to the streets, a few for senseless rioting (like in England), some others simply to shout that they’ve had enough of the current Government and especially of the incumbent president since December 2004.

Many of those contested learders around the world had always been villains, but Traian Băsescu – just like Mikheil Saakashvili, in Georgia, and Ukraine’s former president Viktor Yuschenko – was portrayed as an anti-communist and anti-totalitarian hero not so long ago (by the mid 2000s).

It was a ridiculous image, as he was a merchant marine captain, in charge of the largest vessel in the commercial fleet of communist Romania, and he had never hid (nor had he ever seemed ashamed of) his communist past.

Far from winning elections  in landslide victories – and many believe he couldn’t have won at all without Uncle Sam’s help – he was, nevertheless, regarded as a ‘hero’ by his fanatic supporters, as well as by the mainstream media of the Western world.

In spite of this pedestal of respectability on which he was put and of his ceaseless rethoric against the corruption and presumed authoritarianism of others, his regime proved to be even more malignous than the previous ones in post-communist Romania.

Eager to get richer, as the former communists had done before them in the early 1990s, the orange gang around Băsescu has engaged in parasiting on the Romanian economy.

That was nothing new for democratic Romania. What would eventually draw the ire of many was the aggressive manner in which he understood to exert his prerogatives, as if the political establishment could be steered like the oil tanker that was once under his command.

Unlike his predecessors – a shrewd former commmunist, always able to build consensus, and a politically weak geology professor, who refused to run for a second term, admitting that “he had been defeated by the system” – Băsescu appears to be at ease only when at war with someone.

Because of his stubbornness and arrogance, the ‘orange hero’ would soon be vehemently contested. Halfway into his first term, the Parliament voted for his impeachment. According to the Constitution, he was suspendend, the President of the Senate temporarily replaced him, and Romanian voters were called to approve or nulify the decision of their representatives.

Back then, Romanians were to bee too blind to see that the bogus anti-system hero, promising to tread on all enemies of democracy and prosperity, was himself the product of a despicable system. Thus, he won the referendum confirming him in office by 70%.

It would be simplistic to believe foreign media reports (+ here) that the protests on the streets have to do with the VAT increase (from 19% to 24%) or with some of the harshest austerity measures taken anywhere in the EU: a 25% wage cut of public employees, and a 15% tax on pensions. The decisions were taken in May-July 2010, and Romanians bit the bullet.

Maybe not even the incident that ignited the protests – in the second week of January 2012, Băsescu arrogantly took on the chief of the Romanian emergency rescue service (SMURD), accusing him of opposing a controversial health reform – should be overestimated.

Nevertheless, it was the spark that enraged many, among the millions in whose hearts the ‘Orange Revolution’ (a term which was not as much used in Romania as it was in Ukraine, while the colour was equally widespread) into an ‘orange plague’.

People are angry with a lot of things in this country, among which Băsescu’s divisive manner of leadership and resentful attitude rise above any other reasons of discontent.

The president who promised “to turn to the people” (in his war against a corrupt system) has turned his back on the people that put their hopes in him.

Only insiders from the system who knew exactly when to dress in orange are better off, while many of Băsescu’s fans, his reluctant supporters (who thought he was a lesser evil), the mass of politically indifferent Romanians, and those how never voted for him are worse off.

Although demonstations were held in many cities (some 60) apart from Bucharest, very few are those protesting on the streets these days, compared to the level of discontent in Romania.

Most protesters are against the entire ruling class, the opposition (former communists + liberals) is united only in weakenesses, while most other law abiding citizens are  ‘protesting’ on Facebook and blogs or cynically mock those on the streets.

It seems unlikely – but I like to never say never! :-) – that Băsescu and the Government he supports would resign and call earlier elections (as 2012 is electoral year anyway). Not even blocking unpopular reforms appears probable for now.

This happens because – thanks to the very same putrid system that he often criticized –  Băsescu has managed to forge a ruling coalition. His party (PDL) is propped up by a new party (UNPR) made up of dissenters  from the main opposition party (PSD).

With a popular support of 10%, Băsescu’s regime is currently a sort of elected dictatorship. The widespread (but far from being massive until now) protests and the president’s reaction to them will be one of the most serious test for the post-1989 Romanian democracy.

All in all, the hero of 2004-2009 has turned into public enemy number one. Like so often before in history, the same man who once personified so many hopes for the better became the personification of bitter disappointment.

Sadly, irrespective of all the anger and despair of many, there’s no true ‘feeling of revolution’ in the air, as if everyone knew that, with of without ‘captain Băsescu’, Romania would be still floating adrift boundlessly... As if only hitting an iceberg could possibly help this aimless nation come to its senses...

[For all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]

[EN] A few wonders from the UK / [RO] Câteva minunăţii din UK (25)

[EN] For some, it’s the home of the British democracy, which is seen as a role model in our (Western) civilisation. [RO] Pentru unii, este casa democraţiei britanice, care este văzută drept un model de urmat în civilizaţia noastră (vestică).

[EN] For others it’s but a sham, meant to disguise the fact that Great Britain is run by successive elected dictatorships. [RO] Pentru alţii, este doar o amăgeală, menită să mascheze faptul că Marea Britanie este condusă de dictaturi elective succesive.

[EN] For most ‘apolitical’ visitors of London, it’s just a magnificent tourist attraction, which can’t be skipped. [RO] Pentru cei mai mulţi vizitatori ‘apolitici’ ai Londrei, este doar o magnifică atracţie turistică, ce nu poate fi omisă.

[EN] This is the new (built after 1834) Westminster Palace, which hosts both houses of the British Parliament. [RO] Acesta este noul (construit după 1834) Westminster Palace, care găzduieşte ambele camere ale Parlamentului britanic.

[EN] It lies on the north (left) bank on the Thames, close to the complex of government buildings on Whitehall. [RO] E situat pe malul de nord (stâng) al Tamisei, aproape de complexul de clădiri guvernamentale de pe Whitehall.

[EN] With its Big Ben, the palace makes an iconic brand of the UK, not to be dethroned  by the London Eye any time soon. [RO] Cu al său Big Ben, palatul este un brand iconic al UK, ce nu poate fi detronat curând de London Eye.

[For all the episodes of this series, and all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate episoadele din această serie şi toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]

A ‘British Obama’ and little truths that won’t change anything [Un ‘Obama britanic’ şi mici adevăruri care nu vor schimba nimic]

“Watching Germany rise from its knees after the war and become a vastly more prosperous nation has not been easy on the febrile British psyche.”

“All nations have a cross to bear, and none more so than Germany with its memories of Nazism. But the British cross is more insidious still.”

“A misplaced sense of superiority, sustained by delusions of grandeur and a tenacious obsession with the last war, is much harder to shake off. We need to be put back in our place.”

Wow, is this another attack on Britan from me, the ever ungrateful and shameless Chevening Fellow, as some ‘friends’ would say?!

Not that I wouldn’t agree with this diagnosis of the British psyche, but I must admit someone else put it better than I could have described it.

That someone is Nick Clegg (leader of the Liberal Democrats), a man who could – theoretically – become the UK’s next Prime Minister (or ruler of Britain’s Elected Dictatorship).

If he weren’t close enough to a historic electoral result – which doesn’t necessarily have to be an outright victory but could rather mean throwing the British political establishment into agonizing deadlock – these words would have remained unnoticed.

After all, the pro-EU, and anti-Iraq war Clegg first spit these little truths some eight years ago. Now, his enemies foolishly imagine that recalling his “attack on British pride” could supposedly tarnish his image of Britain’s Obama.

Well, I’d say it’s just an exaggeration, as I could hardly imagine that there is enough time left before the elections for any ‘Cleggmania’ to gather momentum.

He may talk about ‘hope’ and ‘change’ – just like Barack Obama had been doing for almost two years before the November 2008 Elections – yet Clegg is no more than an irreligious guy, and former playboy (if anyone can be cured of that :-)

Even if he won the elections, his party would not change anything for the better. Although he proves brave enough to tell some truths he’s from the same stock like Obama: very ambitious but rather shallow.

A charismatic character can help one win elections in the USA, and the entire world is curious if this could be done in the UK as well. As millions of Brit youngsters are brainwashed by the celebrity culture this is not altogether impossible anymore.

Neverheless, Clegg has a long way to gain the trust of the nation. Could the inherently euroreserved Britons trust a euroenthusiast (see here, here, here or here)?

Oh, old Monty – seen here (3rd pic) in a statue close to the UK’s Ministry of Defense (2nd pic) – , would you trust him if he were to tell you how to fight a war or rather not fight it? Could soldiers serving under the Union Jack (1st pic) in Afghanistan trust him?

Would anyone from Whitehall believe his promises of tax cuts when Britain is almost bankrupt? Won’t voters fear that a hung parliament could severely affect their lives?

[For all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]

Witty bits from what I learned in the UK (9) [Vorbe de duh din ce am învăţat în UK]

A Scottish friend of mine correctly notes that today’s atheist Great Britain is living according to a bunch of unwritten (yet widely and often unquestionably accepted) ‘articles of faith’ – probably all of them being worth a separate blog post from my part. I will just stick to one of them now – my friend’s sixth, which states that “We have a two party democracy” – and try to expain how I remained with a very different idea from my stay in the UK.

Q: There’s hardly any doubt that, at least until recently, Britain has been governed by a very efficient political machinery (and I mean efficient from the point of view of politicians, not the one of citizens; see a summary of the latest scandal here :-)... But is the UK really a two party democracy?

A: “No, it’s an elected dictatorship,” I was once offered an answer by a professor who, instead of brainwashing us, the (possibly naive) Chevening Fellows, always seemed to express his views sincerely.

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No matter what ‘democratic guarantees’ may be in place, the truth is that, during a certain legislature, the party which forms the government in the UK is in almost ‘complete control’ of the country.

The Prime Minister (PM) not only controls his cabinet, but also the ruling party, whose members are often puppets in his hands. Every now and then, a few mavericks may appear, nevertheless, the rule of the PM is rarely challenged.

Removing Margaret Thatcher or Tony Blair was no easy task, as neither getting rid of Gordon Brown appears to be these days. He seemes doomed to face an electoral disaster next year, but I don’t know whether he’d be replaced as head of Labour.

Theoretically, there are some institutions meant to offer ‘checks and balances’ in the Wesminster parliamentary system. Practically, nothing can be done to sack an unpopular government until the next elections. See here, and here two critical views on the Westminster system.

He may not be as strong as the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth was 350 years ago, nevertheless, today’s PM of the UK is a little dictator. This allowed Thatcher to proceed to massive privatisations, Blair – to go to war in Iraq, and Brown – to ‘save the world’ by throwing billions of pounds to the banks whose recklessness took them on the brink of bankruptcy.

It’s really not worth trying to compare the British and American systems of government, because of countless historical, ethnical, demographical, political, economic etc differences.

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Or, if I were to name only one essential difference which makes the two hardly comparable is the fact that the USA is a federation... which functions incomparably better than many unitary states.

I’d dare to say that the American President can be more effectively ‘checked’ by the Congress (especially by the 50 states represented in the Senate) or the Supreme Court than the British PM can be ‘controlled’ by anyone in the UK. The only thing that voters can do every five years is to choose another dictator :-(

[For all the episodes of this series, and all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate episoadele din această serie şi toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]