PSD LEADER ADRIAN NASTASE: Traian Basescu, Too Is Involved In The Sterling Affair

PSD National Council Chairman Adrian Nastase claims that President Traian Basescu, too, is involved in the controversial Sterling Affair. While in Targoviste, the Social Democrat leader said manipulation attempts were being made to put all the blame for the fossil resources scandal on the former Social Democrat Government, although the act regulating the royalties was signed by Traian Basescu, too.

"In all the talk about Sterling Co. and the Black Sea deposits, no one mentioned - and I think that no one even looked at - a law passed in 1998: the Concessions Law. This law is quite interesting because it introduces the concept of royalties for concessions. It was said that royalties were introduced during the PSD Government. This law had a decision to endorse the framework methodological norms - therefore related to Law 219/1998 - which was countersigned by several important dignitaries, including Traian Basescu. I don"t want to complicate things, but it so happened that I read those documents and I couldn"t help it making them known here, in Targoviste," Adrian Nastase said.

According to Agerpres, Nastase reiterated that attempts were being made to manipulate the public in the Sterling case. He stressed that several persons from the Presidency had contributed to the closure of the controversial contract. Nastase stated that the point of the manipulation was to try to transfer the blame from certain persons from the Presidency to the former PSD Government. He asked the unnamed individuals "to study their resume and see whether they did help with that accomplishment at one time or another."

• Nastase: "I"d be very happy if Basescu didn"t run for president again"

During his visit to Targoviste, Nastase admitted that he would be happy if President Traian Basescu did not run for re-election. Nastase made such statement shortly after Basescu had said he was considering not to run for a new term of office as President, should the economic performance of the country be unsatisfactory.

"I would be very happy if Traian Basescu did not run again, and, if he didn"t run, I"m not sure I would think about running myself," Nastase said. In his opinion, should Basescu not run for President again, the political stake of the Presidency would diminish, so the Government would be able to exercise their full constitutional role.

"There were attempts in the past to somehow use a bi-cameral Government, just like the Parliament is bi-cameral. A Government chamber in Victoria Palace and a Government chamber in Cotroceni Palace. This model, perfected by Traian Basescu, is placing the Parliament and the Government in a subordinate position. We will come to a situation similar to that in France. No one in Romania knows who the Prime Minister of France is," Nastase added. Asked if he was planning to run for president of PSD, Nastase said he was not considering it for the time being.

• Governmental office allocation, longer-lasting than governance itself

Adrian Nastase commented that the process of allocating governmental offices between PSD and PD-L would not end during the governance of the two parties. In his opinion, PSD is going through a period of confusion following the results of the parliamentary election and the decision of forming the ruling coalition with a party of a different doctrine. "As we are now, we are going into a tunnel we cannot get out of as far as our options for the presidential elections are concerned. If only some spectacular things were to happen we could somehow change our message and ensure more support for an alternative," Nastase said.

Asked if "some spectacular things" included a possible coalition breakup, Nastase said that, in the face of financial, economic and social turmoil, his PSD colleagues were trying to find solutions.