waz.observer.com
DAN ALEXE
Today @ 09:43 CET
When asked who runs their country, many Romanians unhesitatingly answer: "The secret services." Conspiracy theories have always been the most popular explanations for major political events affecting the country, or the world, sometimes even attributing natural disasters to occult forces with hidden agendas.
Today @ 09:43 CET
When asked who runs their country, many Romanians unhesitatingly answer: "The secret services." Conspiracy theories have always been the most popular explanations for major political events affecting the country, or the world, sometimes even attributing natural disasters to occult forces with hidden agendas.
Recent press scandals involving the downfall of two of the most influential Romanian media moguls have sparked a new wave of conspiracy theories involving the 'services,' which are largely thought to be president Traian Basescu's puppets.
In September, one of the richest men in Romania, Sorin Ovidiu Vintu, founder and owner of the Realitatea media group, was arrested (and has since been released, pending investigation) for helping a fraud convict flee the country. The case included a collapsed 'Ponzi scheme' disguised as an investment bank which seems to explain, at least partially, the origin of Mr Vintu's fortune.
The fall of the moguls started in June with the arrest (and subsequent release, also pending investigation) of Dan Diaconescu, owner and star journalist of OTV, the main Romanian gutter-journalism TV channel.
He was accused of harassing and blackmailing elected officials and commercial companies, including a major beer brand, who were allegedly asked to pay substantial sums under the threat of a negative media campaign led by the widely watched channel.
In both cases, the files of transcripts of the indicted moguls' private conversations with politicians, journalists and other private figures have appeared in the press, prompting accusations that the secret services engineered the leaks in order to please their boss, Mr Basescu, and to deflect public opinion from the current economic crisis.
Mr Basescu has general oversight of the country's spy services, whose reports he receives daily, but judges must issue permits to listen in on suspects' phone calls.
The transcripts show that important figures in the media have been slavishly obedient to Mr Vintu, even when they were not working directly for him. Those involved have subsequently tried to reduce the whole affair to a personal vendetta led by Mr Basescu against the moguls who openly supported his rival, socialist Mircea Geoana, in the December 2009 presidential elections.
The surprise in those elections was the intensity of the personal involvement of the media magnates, at least some of whom might have had a personal interest in pushing for a socialist president to be installed in Bucharest. The fact that their fortunes were made in shady circumstances during the socialists' two previous tenures in the 1990s was never a secret.
The transcripts of the conversations, which made headlines for weeks, offer a fascinating insight into the incestuous world of Romanian politics in which media owners can make or break politicians' careers. Readers, viewers and listeners discovered a world of corruption and gangster talk, where politicians can only express themselves in expletives and sexual innuendo.
Readers discovered how former presidential candidate Mr Geoana apologised to Mr Vintu on the election evening of 6 December 2009 for not having immediately answered his call. They read how Mr Vintu demanded the portfolio of a defence or finance minister during a conversation with a liberal politician. The liberals supported Mr Geoana against incumbent Mr Basescu in the vote.
The reaction of most of the press and public was characteristic of the 'conspiracy mentality.' The main interpretation was that Mr Basescu is settling his scores by ordering the secret services to leak transcripts to the press.
The fact that under the law the latter are open for consultation by anybody who makes a demand was tacitly ignored; it is so much more comforting to have identified an enemy.
In September, one of the richest men in Romania, Sorin Ovidiu Vintu, founder and owner of the Realitatea media group, was arrested (and has since been released, pending investigation) for helping a fraud convict flee the country. The case included a collapsed 'Ponzi scheme' disguised as an investment bank which seems to explain, at least partially, the origin of Mr Vintu's fortune.
The fall of the moguls started in June with the arrest (and subsequent release, also pending investigation) of Dan Diaconescu, owner and star journalist of OTV, the main Romanian gutter-journalism TV channel.
He was accused of harassing and blackmailing elected officials and commercial companies, including a major beer brand, who were allegedly asked to pay substantial sums under the threat of a negative media campaign led by the widely watched channel.
In both cases, the files of transcripts of the indicted moguls' private conversations with politicians, journalists and other private figures have appeared in the press, prompting accusations that the secret services engineered the leaks in order to please their boss, Mr Basescu, and to deflect public opinion from the current economic crisis.
Mr Basescu has general oversight of the country's spy services, whose reports he receives daily, but judges must issue permits to listen in on suspects' phone calls.
The transcripts show that important figures in the media have been slavishly obedient to Mr Vintu, even when they were not working directly for him. Those involved have subsequently tried to reduce the whole affair to a personal vendetta led by Mr Basescu against the moguls who openly supported his rival, socialist Mircea Geoana, in the December 2009 presidential elections.
The surprise in those elections was the intensity of the personal involvement of the media magnates, at least some of whom might have had a personal interest in pushing for a socialist president to be installed in Bucharest. The fact that their fortunes were made in shady circumstances during the socialists' two previous tenures in the 1990s was never a secret.
The transcripts of the conversations, which made headlines for weeks, offer a fascinating insight into the incestuous world of Romanian politics in which media owners can make or break politicians' careers. Readers, viewers and listeners discovered a world of corruption and gangster talk, where politicians can only express themselves in expletives and sexual innuendo.
Readers discovered how former presidential candidate Mr Geoana apologised to Mr Vintu on the election evening of 6 December 2009 for not having immediately answered his call. They read how Mr Vintu demanded the portfolio of a defence or finance minister during a conversation with a liberal politician. The liberals supported Mr Geoana against incumbent Mr Basescu in the vote.
The reaction of most of the press and public was characteristic of the 'conspiracy mentality.' The main interpretation was that Mr Basescu is settling his scores by ordering the secret services to leak transcripts to the press.
The fact that under the law the latter are open for consultation by anybody who makes a demand was tacitly ignored; it is so much more comforting to have identified an enemy.
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