SOME OF THE MAIN 2009 CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT OF ROMANIA ========Warren D. Smith Dec 2009, info from wikipedia, media reports, canddt web sites========== Crin Antonescu http://www.crinantonescu.ro/ President of the National Liberal Party (PNL). Member of senate. Former history teacher. Romanian Minister of Youth and Sports 1997-2000. First wife Aurelia committed suicide in 2004 due to her illness from cancer. Remarried 2009. Basescu at a debate accused Antonescu of being manipulated by businessman Dinu Patriciu, who is also a financier of the PNL. Antonescu shot back that Basescu was a member of the Communist Party and was being manipulated by former President Ion Iliescu, social democrat Viorel Hrebenciuc and businessman and media magnate Dan Voiculescu. Antonescu called Geoana "demagogue," "liar," "nincompoop," "ambassador of nightmare," "the most athletic political statement maker," "two-penny politician," "laboratory product," "buffoon," "bunny," or "first deputy to Traian Basescu" -- but later endorsed Geoana against Basescu as the "lesser evil," whereupon latter denounced Antonescu as "turncoat." Supported Klaus Johannis as PM. Speaks French, English. Traian Basescu http://www.basescu.ro/ Previously elected president Romania in 2004 and running for re-election while in office. Parliament voted to suspend Basescu (19 April 2007) and tried, but failed, to impeach him. Formerly a ship captain and member of old communist party. Later served in parliament and as minister of transportation, and as mayor of Bucharest 2000-2004; releected 2004 but almost immediately resigned since he'd won the Romanian presidency. Involved in a scandal in which he acquired a large apartment for a remarkably tiny price. Pledged to cut govt spending. Basescu likes to claim he is champion of people against govt corruption, "media moguls," and special interests; opponents see him as corrupt, authoritarian, with no respect for the constitution and its limits on his power, and trampling the independence of the judiciary. Antonescu accused Basecu of using the judiciary to try to investigate his rivals (but not his perceived friends) as "corrupt" -- but notes that despite all those investigations no convictions occurred in 5 years. B wants to (via constitutional amendment) switch Romania to a unicameral parliament; this idea is popular. Basescu was seen in a video hitting a child but proclaimed the video fake and sued those who posted it online. Speaks English, French. Remus Cernea http://remuscernea.ro/ Green party. Activist against discrimination based on faith and religion, advocates separation of church and state. "Freethinker." Hippy-looking. Claims Romania has "unacceptable collusion between the politicians and the Church." Founded the Noesis Cultural Society 1998 (organization which edited the first Romanian e-books and multimedia encyclopedias dedicated to subjects of Romanian culture: a CD-ROM containing 50 ebooks and encyclopedias...) 2009 electoral platform based on 10 points including: supporting conciliation and dialog within Romanian society, supporting human rights and fight against discrimination, closer ties with Romania's neighbours, support green technologies, sustainable development and green agriculture, increase in funding for education and research to 10% of Romanian GDP, freer election system that is more fair to smaller parties, full separation of church and state and a national dialog on social issues such as legalizing prostitution, the problem of drugs and the recognition of heterosexual and homosexual civil unions. All rivals refused to debate him. Apparently Cernea has never held office. Mircea Geoana http://www.mirceageoana.ro/ Current president of Romanian Senate. Since 21 April 2005 head of PSD. Ambassador to USA 1996-2000 and previously in many other diplomatic posts. Degrees in law and mechanical engineering. Claims to represent "social & progressive modern democracy" inspired by Bill Clinton, Gerhard Schroeder, Tony Blair. Suggested increasing investment to beat the recession, [Basescu says progressive (non-flat) tax is "mistake."] "vigorous measures" such as building affordable flats for young people and giving cheap credits to enterprises to help create jobs. [Basescu said in the B vs G debate he also supports govt-funded housing projects.] Says too many impediments stand in way of Romanians trying to create businesses. Basescu accused Geoana of being manipulated by certain wealthy businessmen (he named: Patriciu, Hrebenciuc, Voiculescu, Iliescu, Vantu) and forced Geoana during their final debate to admit he'd visited media mogul Sorin Ovidiu Vantu's house the night before. (Vantu owns Realitatea TV, and Geoana had, in a previous interview, called him "evil.") A journalist challenged Geoana at the debate to swear on a bible he'd never promised those businessmen benefits if elected -- and Geoana duly did so. Geoana shot back that "Romania is perceived as the most corrupt country in the EU after Basescu's five years." Geoana, like Antonescu, supported Johannis for PM. Another development: "Romanian Muslims are planning to back Social Democrat Mircea Geoana in the presidential election runoff after rival candidate Traian Basescu claimed the best thing he had ever done was to christen a Muslim child." (Basescu: "Geoana is a front for Iliescu. It is Iliescu whom I will win against on November 22, and I will make him weary of power.") Fluent in English, French, Spanish. Sorin Oprescu http://www.sorinoprescu.ro/ Independent politician. Medical doctor, surgeon, author of surgical monographs and many science papers. (Former?) university professor. He says he's "met" with a lot of foreign politicians but it doesn't sound like it adds up to much diplomatic experience. Current Mayor of Bucharest (ran Independent). Was senator (PSD) between 2000 and April 2008, serving as the vice-president of Senate Committee for Public Health. Quit PSD in April, resigned from Senate 24 June 2008. Apparently his rivals refused to allow him in the debates, following the bad USA pattern where the debates are set up by negotiations between the big parties, which exclude those not in them. Only Antonescu, Basescu, and Geoana got in high-publicity debates. Oprescu accused Basescu of spending far more than the legal limit on campaign spending. He seemed to think Geoana was the "lesser evil" compared to Basescu but refused to fall into that "trap" i.e. refused to endorse either in the runoff, since both are "false Romanians." [O does not speak foreign languages? What language(s) were his scientific papers written in?]