Băsescu herds the Democratic-Liberal Party with a carrot and a stick

Băsescu herds the Democratic-Liberal Party with a carrot and a stick

When I heard Elena Udrea say on Sunday morning, on Pro TV, that the cabinet reshuffling would delay the application of the austerity laws, I felt pity for the Democratic-Liberal Party MPs whom had been promised ministerial blood. Instead of changes in the overused and unpopular Boc Cabinet, Democratic-Liberal Party senators and deputies have received just a little more carrot, enough to get them to September.

When he needed their support in Parliament, the President promised them that he would rid the Government of incompetents, just please don't vote in favor of the motion of no confidence. Now that he doesn't have that to worry about, Băsescu stopped playing the MPs game. He asked them, without saying please this time, to understand that change is impossible now, when the pension and salary cuts laws have to be applied. The reasoning is correct, but it was valid even before the motion of no confidence vote, when the Democratic-Liberal Party senators and deputies were encouraged to cry on the firm but gentle shoulders of the President.

Sunday, in Snagov, Băsescu showed no patience to the MPs. When some of them complained that Cabinet members don't answer their phone calls, the President replied irate that ministers have other things to do than pick up the phone calls of 200 MPs. He criticized a few of the ministers but, tough luck!, the list of those that annoy the MPs doesn't coincide with the President's list. Blaga, Videanu and Berceanu we're again the guilty parties. The first two were blamed with losing Bucharest, as if the Capital had been a Democratic-Liberal Party stronghold until as late as last week. Băsescu forgot that he himself lost the Bucharest elections, not because of the Democratic-Liberal Party but because of the anti-liberal message he had during his first term in office. It's true that Videanu's disastrous term as Bucharest Mayor used up some of the Democratic-Liberal Party's votes, but this is not the sole reason for the failure. To Băsescu, errors committed by others are insufferable and irreparable.

Most of those that took part in the useless Snagov reunion quickly realized how things are. The President had a message to convey and felt the need for a docile audience. Those who weren't in sync got slapped around a bit. Deputy Marius Spânu complained of the central and local mafia in the party. Băsescu

executed him like he did Geoană in the presidential campaign: "Did you go see Blejnar (head of the National Agency for Tax Administration) the day before the vote for the motion of no confidence?". "Yes", Spânu irresponsibly replied. "Did you ask him to appoint your cousin head at the customs office?". "Yes", continue the deputy, quite lost by then. "Good; sit down then, Mr. Deputy. Would anybody else like to speak up?". Nobody else had the guts. They all had a cousin or a father-in-law to appoint somewhere.

The President's discourse wanted to be one of goodbye, providing advice for the future - "Follow my lead this one last time", "Find my replacement", "Reform the party". It was a false goodbye. The party is not and won't be in a post-Băsescu era anytime soon. It can't be and won't be let be. It's being chaotically herded, with a carrot and a stick, towards an unknown destination.

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