Mesages in Cipher

Whoever knows Adrian Nastase says that in general, he is a cautious man who does not have emotional outbursts. The incumbent Premier is a long-race politician, very adroit and patient, who has been building his influence within PDSR (Social Democracy Party) for 10-11 years. He did not choose Petre Roman’s "boat" when FSN (National Salvation Front) exploded in 1991 and did not leave Ion Iliescu and his party, even if that political organization underwent a regressive evolution during that period of time. Even if he is not a typical PDSR member, Nastase has been maintaining his superior position since 1990. At the same time, there are very many persons who appreciate that the communication policy of the present government is one of the most professional of the last decade. Premier Adrian Nastase knows very well that the public perception is more important than reality itself and this is why he is very interested in his own image and that of the executive in general.
However, Mr. Nastase’s recent outbursts contradict both his image-related strategy and his political behavior. Nevertheless, he doesn’t have president Iliescu’s problems, whose declarations still include some reminiscences of an intense activity within PCR (Romanian Communist Party). Nastase does not seem to be dominated by very firm ideological convictions and this is why many people who reject Ion Iliescu from a political point of view accept him. This is why Nastase’s attitude towards the public reactions generated by the Ristea Priboi scandal seem to be very surprising. After Priboi was appointed head of the parliamentary commission which is supposed to control SIE (External Intelligence Service), Premier Adrian Nastase declared that we should ignore our "Securitate-related obsessions". However, subsequently he criticized the activity of CNSAS, by resorting to a tone and a language which were not typical for him. We could not say that Adrian Nastase is a naive person. He knows very well
that we might never accept the fact that he compared the disclosing of the information contained in the Securitate dossiers with the activity of "licking files".
The symbolical impact of Adrian Nastase’s declarations is not to be neglected. But how could we justify the fact that he accepts to "rumple" his image of modern political leader, characterized by a pragmatic and pro-occidental orientation? As he has not committed any major blunder so far, we might say that this type of behavior should be justified by a solid reason. The language he resorted to was explicitly used in order to shock us. A possible interpretation of his gesture could be offered by the last Grecea scandal, which underlined the more and more influent position of the intelligence service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Unlike SRI (Romanian Intelligence Service), this service can be controlled by the Premier himself. Even if there is just one ruling party, the various interests existing within this political structure are much more divergent nowadays.
There are many people who speak about a possible tacit conflict between Adrian Nastase and the president. This statement should be analyzed within a larger context. There are various groups and centers of interests which orient themselves according to certain power poles. Secret services play a very important part in this process, at the end of which the power structures existing within a state find their final position. Moreover, the influential axes might have external endings. It is not very reasonable to say that Moscow does not have any influential agents in Romania, who might have been re-activated after 1990. We have analyzed the Priboi case very deeply, but what about the Timofte case? The accusation of having collaborated with KGB, launched against the SRI director, is extremely grave. Such a suspicion should be treated seriously, especially if we want to integrate into NATO and EU.
There are certain groups in the secret services which modified their orientation behind the scene. Let’s not forget the "under cover" officers, the former informers who maintained their position in the State machinery, or the prosperous businessmen coming from these structures. Whatever one’s position within the system might be, only the person who manages to control a very large part of this machinery gets the power. This is what Petre Roman himself felt in 1991, when he lost his position of Prime-Minister within a few days. And this truth is encapsulated in a lesson that Adrian Nastase has learnt very well, as we may notice from his latest reactions. He wants people like Priboi to hold key-positions, because they can be very influential within the secret services area. As for the attack launched against CNSAS, we might say that he intends to tell everybody that as long as he has the supreme command, anyone will be protected.
Adrian Nastase knows very well the fact that at present, the population is still supporting him and is giving him credit. But very soon a certain economic erosion will become visible, and resources meant to help enterprises such as "Tractorul" and "Roman" do not exist. This is why he wants to be very well protected when the others start attacking him. And such a reason is solid enough in order to make up for his damaged image in the Priboi and CNSAS cases.
(Alexandru LAZESCU)