Romanian PM says President was secret police officer in the Communist era

The political battle intensifies in Romania, and statements flow from all sides. Prime Minister Victor Ponta recently said Romania’s President Traian Basescu was an officer of the Romanian secret police in the Communist era – the Securitate. “Mr. Basescu was a Securitate officer and Romanians knew this and yet voted for him. That’s why I didn’t vote for him, it was one of the reasons I didn’t vote, because I read in the books what Securitate did against Romanians and I thought that a Securitate officer shouldn’t be president, but still people elected him, so now it’s too late, it remains for history,” said Ponta, reports local Mediafax. The National Council which reviews the Securitate files however said in February this year that Traian Basescu did not collaborate with the Securitate secret Police. It was for the fourth time when the Council issues decisions which stated the president was not a Securitate collaborator. Romanian journalist Robert Turcescu recently admitted he was an undercover officer and gave up moderating his TV show at local news station B1 TV. Famous Romanian journalist says he was an undercover officer. Traian Basescu himself recently called on all presidential candidates to come forward about their past as undercover officers. Basescu, now 62, ends his second - and last - presidential mandate this fall, but it is yet uncertain whether he will continue as a politician, as he had conflicting statements and changed his mind frequently about his future, judging by public statements. Romania’s president has a change of heart about retirement: long holiday after 2014 but back to politics Back in 1989, when the Communist regime fell in Romania, Basescu was 38, and has served as a ship captain. In the early 90s, he became a member of the National Salvation Front Party, and was named Transport Minister in 1991. In 1992, he was elected to the lower house of the Romanian Parliament, then re-elected for a second term in 1996. Starting 1996, he served again as Transport Minister. Four years later, he was elected Bucharest mayor. Fast forward another four years, and he became Romania's president. He was re-elected in 2009. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com