Decisive confrontation: Basescu attacks, Geoana keeps defences up
The ‘moguls’ were a central topic to the final confrontation between the two presidential rivals, Basescu accusing Geoana of acting according to controversial tycoons’ interests. The PSD leader tried to maintain a neutral tone and refrain from attacks.
published in issue 4574 page 3 at 2009-12-07
The final debate between the two presidential contenders, incumbent Traian Basescu and his challenger, Social-Democrat leader Mircea Geoana, was a tight one, full of attacks and criticism, but lacking in any real programmes or discussions on actual plans for the future.
The debate on Thursday evening lasted for three hours, during which Basescu continuously kept Geoana under siege, in spite of the PSD leader’s initial appeal to refrain from personal attacks. Faced with Basescu’s successive blows, Geoana tried to remain calm and not answer in a similar manner, a fact praised by some analysts, but criticized by others and also by several PSD members and supporters as a sign of weakness.
Supported by his gallery of Democrat Liberal members and his family, Basescu began by attacking the PSD and Geoana as an “unreformed party” and someone “who doesn’t understand Romanians’ needs.” The PSD leader, with a gallery made of many prominent PSD and Liberal Party members, but also civil society representatives, actors and writers, tried to maintain an elegant speech and said Basescu is a source of scandal and division. Geoana voiced his vision for a unitary Romania and mainly focused his attacks on failures reported during Basescu’s term, not on personal issues.
The situation was not the same with Basescu, who repeatedly accused Geoana of being ‘moguls’ puppet’ and in the context, accused the PSD leader of going for a secret meeting with controversial businessman Sorin Ovidiu Vantu the night prior to the debate. Geoana seemed to be taken by surprise by the question, but soon snapped out of it and admitted he had met with Vantu, to discuss an interview in which he had called the businessman ‘evil.’ Geoana said Basescu too had several meetings with Vantu.
The meeting with Geoana was confirmed by Vantu, who said he and the PSD leader are friends for four years. He added that Geoana went to see him “to relax ahead of the debate.” Both during the debate and on Friday, Basescu said on Friday that Vantu called Geoana to discuss the arrest of Nicolae Popa, a former associate and friend of the businessman, who was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison for fraud. News of Popa’s arrest in Jakarta was made public on Thursday and Basescu said that was why Vantu summoned Geoana to see him. He also said Geoana extended Popa’s passport while he was foreign minister, but then retracted his statement. Geoana said he was very bothered by the fact Basescu tried to associate him with Popa, as he does not even know the man.
However, Popa’s alleged arrest might only be a campaign tactic. According to Greater Romania Party leader Corneliu Vadim Tudor, Popa was not in fact arrested and the news was spread by Basescu’s people, in order to use it against Geoana. Vadim Tudor underlined that Popa still appears as ‘wanted’ on Interpol’s website.
Debate topics, presents and swearing on the bible
Among attacks and criticism, the two candidates also touched on issues related to their future plans, if they win the election. Foreign affairs took center stage, as one of the president’s most important attributes. In the context, Basescu said Romania must focus its strategic partnership with the US and try to have a good relationship with Ukraine, but warned against any ‘excesses’ from Kiev. Geoana underlined that fidelity to Europe and the US doesn’t mean Romania cannot have a good relationship with the east and called for closer ties with Russia, Ukraine, China, India and most of all, the Republic of Moldova.
The two leaders also discussed economic projects, which gave them another opportunity for mutual attacks. Geoana accused Basescu and the PDL government of having no coherent policies to fight the economic crisis, charges that the current president vehemently dismissed.
A special moment of the debate was when the two leaders made gifts to each other. Basescu gave Geoana a basket full of Romanian-made foodstuff, while the PSD leader offered “a more cultural present” – a book written by him and a “Code of good manners.”
The confrontation ended with another special moment, planned by anchor Robert Turcescu. The anchor gave each of the two rivals a bible and asked them to swear that they did not do certain things. Geoana was asked to swear that he never promised material benefits to businesspeople such as Vantu, Dan Vaiculescu or Dinu Patriciu, while Basescu was asked to swear that he did not hit a child in a 2004 election rally, as shown in a film made public in the last week of campaign. Basescu denied he ever hit the child and swore he “hit him neither in the abdomen nor in the face.” His choice of words prompted several commentators as saying that the president made a false oath, leaving room for interpretation the he ‘might have hit the child in a different manner.’
Russian Ambassador on Geoana’s visits to Moscow: Cold War is over
Russian Ambassador to Romania Aleksandr Churylin commented on Social-Democrat leader Mircea Geoana’s visits to Moscow, underlining that the Cold War is over and people are free to go wherever they want to. His comments came amid heavy criticism from President Traian Basescu of Geoana’s two visits to Moscow. Basescu repeatedly accused Geoana of making secret visits to Moscow to negotiate political support and offered in return the privatisation of large state-run energy companies. The charges were dismissed by Geoana.Churylin underlined, quoted by Agerpres, that Russia does not want to get involved in Romania’s election campaign, but said politicians’ visits to Moscow cannot be banned. “Our attitude as regards Romanian elections is one of respect and we wouldn’t want some of our beliefs to influence the public opinion in any way. As for politicians’ visits, I don’t know how they could be banned! The Cold War is over,” Churylin said.Basescu replied, saying that indeed the Cold War is over and warned that Russia can no longer “create centers of influence in Romanian politics.” The president underlined that the statement made by Churylin was an “unfortunate” one. “And I find myself having to warn him, officially even, that the Cold War is over and that they can no longer have center of influence in Romanian politics and that if they do, these centers will be destroyed,” Basescu said in a TV-show on OTV on Friday.
