Mark Percival
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Last week anti-corruption prosecutors searched a house in Bucharest which was reportedly once owned by Tamara Cersanov, the celebrated aunt of former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase's wife. The "aunt" scandal hit the media after Nastase claimed that Mrs Cersanov had left him a one million euros inheritance, even though she reportedly lived on a pension of little over 100 euros per month. The incident led to anti-corruption prosecutors stepping up their investigations into Nastase, which are already under way over the controversial Zambaccian real estate affair. Nastase is charged with taking bribes and abusing his position as head of the Social Democratic Party (PSD). As well as searching Aunt Tamara's house, investigators have also visited a flat owned by Nastase's eldest son Andrei. So far they have not been able to search any of the former Prime Minister's own properties, since the Chamber of Deputies, currently headed by Nastase, has not given its agreement, which it must do for any criminal investigation into one of its members. However, an eventual prosecution of Nastase is looking increasingly likely, perhaps even leading to a prison sentence if he is found guilty.
A jail term for Nastase would create jubilation among large sections of the population who are tired of corruption in the political class. Yet to view such an event as demonstrating in itself that the rule of law exists in Romania would be just as dangerous as to see the fall of Ceausescu as marking the end of communism. Ceausescu's regime was built on an entire hierarchy of sycophants, who oppressed the population to preserve their own privileges and who remained largely in place after the dictator fell. The ousting of Ceausescu was actually planned by this second ranking group of communists, since the dictator had become a liability, and hence threatened the existence of the whole system on which their privileges were based. So these people overthrew Ceausescu to preserve the communist system, not to replace it, even though the planned palace coup within the Party was pre-empted by the street protests which demanded genuine democracy.
Equally, corruption in Romania's current political class should not be identified too strongly with one individual, since it is endemic, and affects all parties. As with the ouster of Ceausescu, many leading members of PSD and of other parties may well see the advantages in manipulating the Nastase case to suggest that a major effort against political corruption is now being mounted, deflecting attention from lesser ranking figures in the PSD on which Nastase's system was built, and also turning attention away from graft allegations against members of the ruling coalition. One of the ironies of the recent discussions about Nastase was the way in which former Transport Minister Miron Mitrea suggested in January that the former Prime Minister should give up his party functions in view of the allegations against him. Yet Mitrea himself has been the subject of numerous accusations of abuses.
Investigations into high level corruption are obviously very welcome as are any moves to reduce the generous immunity which parliamentarians enjoy. However, there is a danger that the current administration will be keen to focus on major cases involving the PSD, in an attempt to win political capital, perhaps with a view to staging early elections later this year after the EU country report in May, as well as to suggest to the EU that progress is being made in fighting graft. Yet real action against corruption depends on the development of a truly independent judiciary. While strong efforts in this direction have been made by Justice Minister Monica Macovei, and more recently by the head of the National Anti-Corruption Department Daniel Morar, true reform is still in its infancy, and the Prime Minister, Calin Popescu Tariceanu, has shown on a number of occasions that he has a very limited understanding of what independence of the judiciary really means. While progress on any of the big cases is certainly welcome, the EU needs to be wary of giving them too much attention in its assessment as to whether Romanian justice is genuinely equitable.
Copyright © 2004-2006 Bucharest Daily News
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