A change of the CHANGE

The shrewd logic of Romanians proved its long term mettle on December 6th, when no one else believed Romanians were still capable of thinking rationally.

The logical principle which guided voters on Sunday was "denial of denial".

Most voters were willing to deny what the presidency did in the last five years. The continuous political infighting, the deep inconsistency of the mix of criticism and praise of the what the government has been doing, the opacity of the major economic decisions and the fact that the government seemed to be always winging it when making decisions, caused Romanians to go back on their choice of five years ago.

The electoral law, the TV stations owned by the moguls, the world of businessmen who got rich by doing business with the state, and last but not least a few personalities previously deemed respectable (such as Mircea Dinescu, Doina Cornea, Klaus Johannis, Emil Hurezeanu, etc.) have been telling Romanians that once they reneged on the current regime, their alternative would be Mircea Geoană.

Was he the worst choice? They might as well have picked someone to run for president by flipping a coin.

In time, the ones who picked him as well as those who were supposed to vote for him saw his many flaws.

Mircea Geoană lacked personality, was incoherent in his thinking and fell in every trap laid by his opponents, and sometimes even in traps laid by his supporters for his opponents.

In the end, he achieved a unique result in the political boxing match. He stumbled by himself, he fell, went down to the floor and performed the count himself. His supporters were desperate, but it was too late. Sunday concluded with "Alea iacta est". He culminated by proclaiming himself the winner before the final gong, lifting his right hand with his left hand.

On Monday morning, we all read the epilogue. Romanians refused the alternative they were being offered and voted for keeping the change in place.

We may soon discover that we wasted six months of our lives for a status quo that ... alas... tends to become chronic.