Basescu pledges to rid Romania of poverty

ROMANIA: Mr Traian Basescu pledged yesterday to rid Romania of poverty and corruption after his shock victory over Prime Minister Adrian Nastase in the race for the presidency.

The straight-talking former sea captain and current mayor of Bucharest took 2.5 per cent more votes than his rival in Sunday's run-off, stunning the ruling Social Democrats (PSD) who had believed that victory for Mr Nastase was assured.

As Mr Basescu's orange-clad supporters celebrated, analysts hailed his win as an unexpected boost for Romanian democracy, which showed an often apathetic electorate that voting could make a difference, and proved to the European Union that its candidate member come through a fiercely fought poll more smoothly than neighbouring Ukraine.

"The top priority is to fight corruption," Mr Basescu declared, soon after Mr Nastase called him to offer congratulations and accept defeat.

"I will tackle this scourge head-on, because corruption is becoming a real threat to our national security." Mr Basescu and his Justice and Truth Alliance (DA) tapped into deep-seated disillusionment with voters who are sick of graft, at all levels, hampering daily life and draining much-needed cash from the country's coffers.

While the EU is set to give formal approval this week for Romania's accession in 2007, it has threatened to postpone membership for a year if Bucharest fails to fight corruption, slash state subsidies to industry, create real competition and improve border security at what will be the bloc's eastern edge.

Mr Basescu has criticised Mr Nastase's government and the EU for bending accession rules to let Romania in, and vowed to make sure that the nation joins on merit.

"Today a priority is to form, as soon as possible, a government capable of continuing membership negotiations," he said.

"But EU membership must also be won in Romania, because it is here that we must live up to the standards necessary to make sure that Romanian society meets the demands of the Union." Mr Basescu, with the directness that has marked his campaign, also pledged to get rid of cronyism and give Romanians a clearer view of their country and how it is run.

"We must no longer play with statistics to hide poverty. In reality, there are many in Romania who live below the poverty line." He also vowed to protect the independence of the media and judiciary, which have come under severe pressure from the PSD, the party that has dominated Romanian politics since dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was executed in 1989.

Mr Nastase and his mentor, outgoing president Mr Ion Iliescu, emerged from Ceausescu's administration to take power, causing many Romanians to now view the events of 1989 as less of a people's revolution than a coup d'état.

Seeing Mr Nastase's victory as a mere formality, the PSD had already begun negotiations to form a new government, after it narrowly defeated the DA in the November poll. But the PSD's nascent coalition quickly cracked after Mr Basescu's victory was announced, with the Humanist Party and an ethnic Hungarian bloc declaring their willingness to work with the DA.

Analyst Mr Mark Percival, of the independent Romania Think Tank, said Mr Basescu might call a repeat general election to boost his support in parliament. "If Basescu really wants to strengthen his position he will call fresh elections. He will probably try to form a minority government with various alliances, but could have difficulty doing that and should then call fresh elections for next spring."

He said Mr Basescu owed his win to a strong turnout from his supporters and the fact that most people who voted for nationalist or ethnic minority candidates in the first round voted for him in protest at the PSD's murky record.

"There was so much disillusionment with Nastase's team. People were really fed up with corrupt politics, and the most identifiably corrupt were in the PSD government. Nastase was unable to create a team with a remotely credible image."