Bancorex, SAFI, FNI, PSD, PRM, can you take some more?

Ovidiu Nahoi

Union for the Reconstruction of Romania, a new party challenge the old party members

They are a bunch ol rebels. They have impressive resumes, work in air conditioned offices and make lots of money. But they are fed up with poverty of Romanians. They have no intention to immigrate and don't believe in the federalization of Romania. They want more, they want to challenge the politicians that rule the country, if possible to kick them out of the field. To do that, the rebels want to convince those that share their opinions to join them. You can find more about them on www.urr.ro.

Their Words for the Unrest of the Politicians

The slogans created by the young URR leaders say a lot more about their convictions than the programs and the doctrine:

• 500.000 have already left abroad. Do we leave also or do we do something? Don't stay for nothing!
• BANCOREX. SAFI. FNI. PSD. PRM… Can you still take some more? Do something for you!
• If you shut up, you get it! When you talk, no one pays attention to you. URR - The conspiracy of common sense.
• Say 33! Or say URR. Another type of politics at 33 years old - the average age of the leadership of this party!
• The water has broke! It is time to be reborn!
• Do you sleep quietly? The government works for you! If you wake up too late, they have already worked you too! Again! Wake up!
• Villas, jeeps, swimming pools, bodyguards, sirens, despise. How much was your maintenance bill? Do something for you!
• Working visits, paintings, hunting, subtle irony. How much money do you have for the holidays? Think of yourself too!

...

It's Monday, 9 o'clock sharp in the morning. Cosmin, 33, parks his car in front of the GfK building, the Romanian branch, one of the most important 10 multinational marketing research companies. The janitor salutes him respectfully. Cosmin is the Boss. The Managing Director. He graduated the Academy of Economic Studies eight years ago, three years ago got an Executive MBA degree from ASEBUSS, coordinated by the Business School of Washington University from Seattle, USA, in collaboration with the Romanian - American Post-graduated Business School. This is what is written in his Resume. From the same document one can find that he founded in 1992 a Romanian - American private company for marketing research, "Research Team Romania", SRL. In January 1996 his company merged with the German corporation GfK. Last year, the Romanian branch made a gross income of 1,5 mil Euro with a team of 40 people. Cosmin is married and has 2 children. He is a happy man, at least in certain degree….
" The problem is that you cannot consider yourself completely happy when you see what is around you. You fell that everything is OK but immediately that you get out in the public space and see what is going on and start to realize that there is no sing of improvement, you start to see things differently. I have friend that is 40 and few months ago he took his family and moved to Canada. There are people that cannot stand to sit aloof. We do have the option to leave the country, but if I have decided to stay I cannot stand too be the mockery of these people that rule us" says Cosmin. He is part of a group of 30 people, all holding MBAs and wealthy enough, having their own business or managing important companies. All of them have rushed into something really mad: URR. They registered in conformity with the law of the parties and gathered the required 10 000 signatures.They do no want anything else than to replace the existing politicians that they believe obsolete. ''Let suppose that in 2004 PSD will not win the election, but whhat, what party can be the alternative? PNL, they have been there and it was a disaster. At a certain point one has to take some drastic measures. Are these representatives the only possible choice? Will they stay there till they die? We thought that some other qualified people might join us now that we are registered as a party. Because there is out there a large number of valuable young men that have a different mentality, that are fed up with everything and they have something to say, too. Their interests, as well as ours, are not represented in any way now. The 30 of us managed to create a structure that is able to do this. We have representatives in key positions all over the country" says Cosmin. The structure of this organization will be a new, revolutionary one, too. The candidatures will be presented to the team and the members of the party will have the right to choose themselves directly the leaders. As in the Parliament and Presidency.

Who are these rebels?

Among the 30 people there are some "privileged " characters. This means that they came out in the open and speak up about their political belief. The rest must remain protected since they have executive positions in important companies and any public appearance might endanger their situations. It is enough a phone call from somebody important that may feel uncomfortable about their political belief and the firm may loose important business contracts if the "rebel" is not fired. Everybody knows that is the way in which system functions in Romania. So the young managers prefer to play the political game anonymously.

But the privileged ones are ; Cosmin Alexandru, that we have already met, Managing Director of GfK Romania,; Adrian Stanciu, 42, executive partner in a consultancy business company (ex. Deputy Managing Director of Xerox LTD, Bucharest branch; Mirela Vincze, 25, administrative sale assistant at Reckitt Benckizer Romania, graduated the Faculty of East European Studies at the University Babes Bolyai form Cluj Napoca; Adrian Grigore Pop, 42, Executive Director of a Romanian - German firm that edits IT&C magazines. Diana Uriciuc, 24, is most likely the youngest General Secretary of a Romanian party. She holds a dergree in Philosophy from "AL. I. Cuza"University Iasi and till April, 2002, she was Program Coordinator in ASPEC, where she elaborated projects within various programs funded by European Commission, such as PHARE.

What they think about ...

Corruption

The most sensitive point is the justice system. If the justice would be efficient, if there would be a counter-acting to the other powers - the executive, the Parliament - than there would be less corruption. A first step would be the clear division of juridical careers. It is not admissible to be today a prosecutor and to want to sentence a criminal, and tomorrow to be a lawyer and to defend the same criminal. There were such cases. As it is also not admissible that members of the parliament are also lawyers. Another important element is the personal example. Corruption comes from top down. If the individual sees that his boss takes bribe, than he will take too, cause this is the model. It is hard to be Nastase and to claim that the grandmother gives 20.000 USD to pay for the education of the children in the Romanian-American school, and than to say: enough with corruption. It is simply not possible. You scare no one. Everyone starts laughing. The first target of the anti-corruption fight must be the executive. This is why we say that the initiative of this Anti-Corruption Court, subordinated to the government, is an aberration. How could they control themselves?

Poverty

The most important thing is supporting the private sector to create new jobs. I have recently heard prime minister Nastase declaring in China that he is not a big fan of privatization and that before privatization, new jobs should be created for those that are going to be released from their previous state jobs. This is a non-sense for the market! There is no such things as "should be created"! The state cannot do anything but to invest which do not create too many jobs. Didn't you see how the highways are built in the West? The car that pours the cements goes first and behind it, some people clean it. That's it. They do not do such things with shovels anymore, with thousands of people as in Bumbesti-Livezeni.

Public administration

Currently, it is a space for arbitrariness and political interests. We do not like what you do, we take your responsibilities, like in Basescu's case. As long as public administration is used like this, there is no chance. Public administration must be urgently opened towards the young generation, which is not affected yet by the wrongs of the system. Anyway, all public clerks should graduate a services school, to understand the fact that they serve the citizen that gives money to the public pocket. In business, you know this for clear: the client must be satisfied today so that he comes back tomorrow. Who is crazy enough to die to come back to the City Hall? The leadership of this country are people that have never worked in their entire life to win someone's respect. They believe respect is granted to them only because they are called Vacaroiu or Nastase. They were formed like this because they come from former communist cultures, nomenclature type. They see it as normal to owe them respect without them doing nothing for you. They have never worked a day in the private sector, where you have to earn the daily respect of the other, because otherwise you are out of the scheme. Because anytime someone is eager to take your place and be kinder to your clients. Until someone that know that each individual in this country is his client makes it to the top, there is no chance. This is the mentality. It is useless to go to them and try to change something from within. They do not understand what we say, we do not understand them.

What they think of ...

Ion Iliescu - I have the feeling he's calling me stupid to my face

It is responsible for everything that happened in the last 12 years. He might be poor and honest, but he raised at his breast a gang of thieves that have robbed the country. You see hundreds of millions of dollars in villas. Did those people do any private business? No. They made Caritas, SAFI, FNI. When Iliescu is on TV playing the innocent, I have the feeling he's calling me stupid to my face.

Adrian Nastase - as long as he is there, we do not stand a chance

He is a younger species and at the same time a more dangerous one of the same way of regarding the problem as Iliescu. According to what we know, he worked only in the state sector. And from state salary and from a lawyer's firm not very spectacular, I do not have the feeling that the circle is round. As long as he is there, and as long as the model is this one - with cars, houses, villas - we do not stand a chance. He thinks you are absolutely stupid when he tells you that the grandmother pays 20.000 USD for the education of the children.

Corneliu Vadim Tudor - you cannot discuss him or his party seriously

The current PSD created him, pushed him into the elections, put him in the Parliament, they should handle him now! In 2000 he had many supporters cause the people were so furious. Maybe many of the people like us voted for him. But you cannot have a serious discussion on Vadim Tudor.

Traian Basescu - nothing grows around him

He is the only personality that functioned as an Opposition leader and at many times he spoke for the problems in a manner that we liked. The only problem is that nothing grows around him. It is impossible that in one company, one single person to do everything. It is the same in politics. We do not see any kind of equilibrium around him, although in the electoral campaign this was precisely his topic.

Valeriu Stoica - PNL is a snakes place

There, in PNL , it seems like it is a snakes place. We cannot understand how a liberal party can be eroded by internal fights only because some or the others are in front. For them, the tables have only one chair. Valeriu Stoica was a minister in the CDR government and he did not do many things. And we did not see any liberal policy in the CDR government, though they had several ministers. From PNL, we have respect for Theodor Stolojan. For Stoica, not so much.

Emil Constantinescu - there is no possible come back

We respect him for many good things he did for Romania, but we also think he is responsible for the fact that the end of his mandate meant the come back (in force) of PSD. He is responsible also for the two prime ministers - Victor Ciorbea and Radu Vasile that performed badly. We do not believe that Emil Constantinescu can ever come back to the level of trust and popular support in 1996.