What a failed state looks like: Who is in power in a Romania of the work poorly done (I)

The latest controversial appointments to key institutions made on Monday, once again raise the issue of populating the Romanian state at the top with mediocre characters, impostors, or unsuitable, vulnerable, and tractable figures.

Appointing a prosecutor with as many question marks in his resume as Bogdan Licu to the Constitutional Court, but who is accepted by the system, or installing as minister of digitalization a politician with zero achievements, like Sebastian Burduja, but with a father who is just as well connected to the system, are symbolic cases.

They represent the choice of one man, under whom counter-selection has reached its peak. Never has the Romanian state looked so shaky as under President Klaus Iohannis. Starting with the highest office in the state, going down the vertical of power, we will find sketchy characters, faded but disciplined personalities, and reliable executants.

The President himself has not ticked off any great achievements in his seven years in office. He won the elections with his pro-justice speech, but the people he installed at the head of the two highest prosecutor’s offices two years ago have not performed. He promised an Educated Romania but has consistently promoted gross plagiarists, headed by the Prime Minister.

Gabriela Scutea or Crin Bologa, the head of National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA), cannot boast of any major cases opened under their terms in office, but instead, corruption has become widespread, a phenomenon highlighted in the latest State Department report.

Gabriela Scutea or Crin Bologa, the head of National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA), cannot boast of any major cases opened under their terms in office, but instead, corruption has become widespread, a phenomenon highlighted in the latest State Department report.

Corruption is flourishing, but big corruption cases are nowhere to be found. The promised reforms in the judiciary are delayed, to the frustration of the few magistrates’ associations still active. The Special Section (for the investigation of criminal offenses in the judiciary ) has been abolished only to be reorganized. The mechanisms for intimidating and controlling magistrates have remained intact.

Relevant in this respect is the single candidacy for the head of the Judicial Inspectorate: Roxana Ioana Petcu, an inspector who harassed courageous magistrates, the wife of a former PSD prefect accused of plagiarism.

The head of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, Corina Alina Corbu, appointed by President Klaus Iohannis in the summer of 2019 for a three-year term, is also accused of plagiarism. The review of her thesis was covered-up three times by the Ethics Commission of the University of Bucharest.

Between 2014 and 2018, Corbu worked as an advisor at the firm Mussat and Associates Tax SRL. It is part of the law firm that represented President Klaus Iohannis from during 2014-2015 in his incompatibility trial at the High Court.

Also, President Klaus Iohannis won his second term in office with a virulent anti-PSD speech, only to kick the USR out of government eight months later and bring the PSD back to power.

Not only has the highest office in the state failed, but the second, third and fourth offices in the state are not up to the task: the President of the Senate is Florin Cîțu, the President of the Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu, and the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă.

President Iohannis made Cîțu prime minister and leader of the PNL in order to get rid of Ludovic Orban, but he also had to sack him because of his lamentable performance in both positions.

And from his position as the second man in the state, Cîțu continues to undermine the governing coalition, continuing a behavior that his Liberal colleagues describe as irresponsible.

Marcel Ciolacu is known for his good relations with the Presidential Palace and already has a reputation as a predictable and disciplined PSD leader.

The latest proof that he is first and foremost a man of the system and only afterward a politician is the total support he offered to the prosecutor Bogdan Licu for the position of judge at the Constitutional Court, to the astonishment of the party, and to the detriment of the PSD senator Robert Cazanciuc.

Nicolae Ciucă, former Minister of Defence and Chief of the General Staff, was President Klaus Iohannis’ choice for Prime Minister from the very beginning.

Neither is he ready for the post of chief executive, having no economic training and a poor capacity to manage a looming crisis, Ciucă was imposed on 10 April and made president of the PNL in a congress with only one candidate.

The prime minister also faces problems with his own résumé: he is also accused of plagiarism, as is Licu and the sole candidate for the head of the judicial inspectorate. This detail, however, does not prevent him from making plans for a possible run for the presidency.

The PSD-PNL-UDMR coalition has formed a government in which Sorin Grindeanu has been appointed deputy prime minister. The former PSD premier is famous for issuing Ordinance 13 in January 2017, designed to spare Liviu Dragnea from going to prison, action that prompted hundreds of thousands of people to take to the streets.

Grindeanu was ousted by Dragnea from the Victoria Palace and has been restored to the power system around President Iohannis. Today, he’s transport minister.

Among President Iohannis’s favorites is Interior Minister Lucian Bode, politically elevated to the position of PNL Secretary-General. He too enjoys the support of the system, reporting on his résumé studies in „Security and Good Governance” at the „Carol I” National Defence College.

This type of security studies, the National Defence College, or connections with the secret services can also be found in other ministers in the Ciucă cabinet: the Minister of Agriculture, Adrian Chesnoiu, the Minister of Energy, Virgil Popescu, the Minister of Education, Sorin Câmpeanu, the Minister of Defence, Vasile Dîncu, the Minister of Environment, Tanczos Barna or the Minister of Family, Gabriela Firea.

The Secretary-General of the Government, Marian Neacșu, also reports a Master’s degree in „Security and Defence Studies” on his résumé. What he does not mention in his résumé, however, is his criminal conviction for corruption.

It is the red thread that also connects many of the new appointees by the power around President Klaus Iohannis. The controversial Bogdan Licu also has the following on his resume: „Romanian Intelligence Service through the National Intelligence Academy – Higher College of National Security”.

With a premier-general and so many security and defence specialists, Romania seems equipped to deal with the war in Ukraine, but in reality, it is a promotion criterion that became the norm long before the Russian invasion.

Promotion based on non-transparent criteria unrelated to meritocracy, counter-selection, and blatant imposture, are best seen in the second and third echelons, in state companies, and other institutions.

• ANRE, nest of sinecures. The National Authority for Energy Regulation (ANRE), one of the most important institutions in the Romanian state, has been populated in the last year with characters who have no connection with the field. The best example was Alexandru Stănescu, the brother of PSD secretary-general Paul Stănescu, who was appointed vice-president of the institution in December, even though all his experience was in agriculture. After a Constitutional Court decision and pressure from civil society, Stănescu resigned. Another key position in the ANRE is held by Marina Claudia Răduinea. She has had a meteoric rise in the institution: in just two years, she went from advisor to head of the Public Procurement Service and now to deputy director-general. Răduinea’s employment and promotion at ANRE is linked to the name of Darius Vâlcov, both of whom are from Slatina.
• The National Audiovisual Council (CNA), the arbiter of the television market and which bears great responsibility for media excesses, is preparing to have Monica Gubernat, known as the protector of the TV moguls, as its head again. The PSD-PNL-UDMR coalition has already amended a law precisely to allow Gubernat to return to head the CNA. Gubernat was sacked last year by the PNL-USR majority precisely because she tolerated media attacks without sanctioning them.
• The Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR), Romania’s interface abroad, has become the home of characters with embarrassing CVs and public performances that have caused astonishment. Among the appointments proposed by the Ministry of Culture is Andreea Dogariu, the wife of PSD senator Eugen Dogariu, who has no connection with culture or diplomacy, and is now employed at the Timiș Child Protection Department. She has been proposed as deputy at the Romanian Cultural Institute in Budapest.
• Catinca Maria Nistor, proposed as Deputy at the ICR London, is the daughter of actor Stelian Nistor, former leader of the Scottish Masonic Lodge. Catinca Nistor’s hearing in Parliament’s specialized committee revealed a candidate unable to articulate her managerial objectives. Catinca Nistor was the interim director of the Bulandra Theatre for about a year under Mayor Gabriela Firea. She was sacked after a public protest by Bulandra’s actors, and later sued by the new interim management for allegedly awarding herself improper sums of money, according to Cultura la Dubă. Catinca Nistor’s parents are the godparents of PSD member Valeriu Zgonea.
• Cezar Preda, a metallurgical engineer assigned to the ICR Paris. Contacted by G4Media, Cezar Preda admitted that he had told the PNL members who made the proposal that „it would be a problem”, but he countered with a sharp retort: „There is a certain bubble in our cultural environment, a certain cocoon, which does not look kindly on anything from the outside.” The 63-year-old Preda holds a degree in engineering in metallurgy – specializing in foundry work – from the Bucharest Polytechnic Institute and a degree in economics from the Academy of Economic Studies – Buzău Territorial Centre, his hometown.
• The Civil Aviation Authority. Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu has appointed Lucian Taropa as a provisional member of the Authority’s Board of Directors. Lucian Taropa is a family friend of Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu. They appear in photos published in the press on holiday in Italy or Switzerland with their wives. Taropa was the administrative director of Timisoara airport, replaced in 2020 by General Doru Grădinaru, the former general director of Timisoara airport, who was also replaced late last year after Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu asked him to resign.
• The Romanian National Air Transport Company (TAROM) A geodesy engineer and metal tile sales specialist has replaced pilot Cătălin Prunariu, son of cosmonaut Dumitru Prunariu, at the head of the TAROM. He is Mihăiță Ursu, who also served as administrator and interim director under Nicolae Bode. He had been dismissed under former minister Cătălin Drulă.
• The Romanian Railways (CFR) Infrastructure. Ion Simu, known for bringing party members to the big PSD rally organized by Liviu Dragnea in 2018, has been appointed to head the institution.
• Ministry of Economy. Elena Petrașcu was appointed secretary-general at the Ministry of Economy, after having served in countless other public positions, earning her as much as 600,000 lei a year. Elena Petrașcu is a graduate of the Faculty of Law (1995) and the National Academy of Intelligence „Mihai Viteazul” (2010), according to Adevărul. Her last job was at the Port of Constanta, where she was president of the Board of Directors since 2018. She was sacked in April 2021 by then Transport Minister Cătălin Drulă, after two reports by the Control Body, as well as a first instance decision, showed that her appointment was procedurally flawed. In February 2021, she had also been removed by Stelian Ion as secretary-general of the Justice Ministry, a post to which she had been appointed by his predecessor, Cătălin Predoiu, in 2020.
• Ministry of Labour. Dragoș Ionuț Bănescu was appointed by decision of Prime Minister Nicoale Ciucă as Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Labour. Dragoș Bănescu is one of the most mobile and transparent civil servants in the Romanian state apparatus. Between 2008 and 2010, he completed a master’s program at the National Intelligence Academy. Over the years he has served on only 17 Boards of Directors of strategic companies, mainly in the energy sector.
• National Airports Company Bucharest (CNAB). Georgeta Bumbac, the goddaughter of PSD baron Felix Stroe, has been appointed by the Liberals as a non-executive director. Under Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă, Georgeta Bumbac was director-general at the Ministry of Health. She is also on the board of directors of the Waterways Administration and was on the board of the National Road Infrastructure Management Company (CNAIR). According to her wealth declaration of October 2021, she reported an annual income of over 143,000 lei from the Ministry of Health, over 26,000 lei from the National Airports Company Bucharest (CNAB), and over 85,000 lei from the Waterways Administration.
• Another sinecure collector is Bogdan Steriopol. Last summer, he was appointed by Energy Minister Virgil Popescu to Rompetrol’s Board of Directors. He is also a member of the board of Incertrans. He reported an income of 97,000 lei from Rompetrol and over 40,000 lei from Incertrans. He is the first vice-president of PNL Sector 2 and a godson of the Reghecampf family. He was a sports journalist, a players’ agent, and a master’s student at the „Mihai Viteazul” National Intelligence Academy of the Romanian Intelligence Service. In 2019 he was an advisor to the former PNL Minister of Education, Monica Anisie.
• National Administration of „Romanian Waters” (ANAR). Between 2020 and 2021, dozens of PNL members or protégés of PNL MPs have been employed at the National Administration of „Romanian Waters” (ANAR), according to an investigation by G4Media.ro. The hiring took place „through the back door” and involved several MPs, senators, secretaries of state, and mayors, especially from rural areas.
• The PNL Sector 1 has imposed a professional sinecurist, close to Dan Rușanu, at the head of a company on which there are suspicions of unjustified spending of millions of euros during the mandate of former mayor Daniel Tudorache. The Board of Directors of the Company for Investment and Development in Health and Areas of Public-Private Interest Sector 1 SA, a company under the Sector 1 Local Council, recently appointed Carmen Radu as general manager.
• Romanian Lottery. Cristina Arghir, sister of a close associate of PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu, has been appointed to the company’s Board of Directors. She had been withdrawn from the list of PSD nominees for Romgaz. In the same meeting, people who have been repeatedly reported in the press as „professional sinecurists”, such as Daniela Nicolescu and Elena Petrașcu, were validated for the Board of Directors (BoD), on the PSD and PNL lines. Ioana Maria Țîra, an employee of the Bucharest Municipal Parks and Gardens Company and Monica Laura Ion, the director of Minister Spătaru’s cabinet, also joined the board.

Note: The above examples are just a small part of the countless examples documented and exposed by G4Media.ro in recent months.

Translated from Romanian by Ovidiu H.