All the “dinosaurs” of politics who did not take a seat in Parliament

The parliamentary elections in December seem to bring a breath of change to the Romanian political class, even among the traditional parties. Dozens of big names from the 90s and 2000s did not capture the lists of the parties to which they belong, be it PSD, PNL or UDMR. Some were marginalized because they were millstones for the party’s image, others because they were in conflict with the leaders. It is true that the elected jurists who mutilated criminal legislation and the laws of Justice to save Liviu Dragnea from prison can form a parallel Legal Commission without the Legislature. “Adevărul” takes stock of those who are left without “coledzi”.

Eugen Nicolicea

PSD deputy Eugen Nicolicea first entered Parliament in 1992, two years after his debut in politics, during communism as a designer at the Drobeta-Turnu Severin shipyard. He would be assigned to the seat of parliament for seven terms, noting over the years the insults of colleagues from other parties or journalists, in contrast to the absolute silence he showed when asked about his studies. in law. In the 1990s, Nicolicea was one of the strongest supporters of the expulsion of King Michael I, demanding in 1994 that the latter be declared “persona non grata”. He was one of the perpetrators of the PSD’s assault on the judiciary and a “daddy” of the law who prematurely freed dozens of thieves and rapists from prison. He was noted for his obedience to Gabriel Oprea and Liviu Dragnea.

Florin Iordache

For 20 years in Parliament, PSD deputy Florin Iordache, first elected from PDSR lists in 2000, was flagged. he directed the episode of “Black Tuesday”, when the USL tried to promote amnesty and clemency. Although the attempt failed, Iordache was going to try again on January 31, 2017, when, from the position of Minister of Justice, he stuttered the approval of Ordinance 13, which brought hundreds of thousands of Romanians to the streets. At that night’s press conference, Iordache rushed journalists with the famous reply “another question!” After resigning from the position of minister, Liviu Dragnea awarded Iordache the position of vice president of the Chamber of Deputies, and later he was installed at the head of the Parliamentary Commission that dealt with the modification of the laws of Justice. In short, the Iordache Commission, which was going to take tens of thousands of people back to the streets. Returning to the present, although he has not won a seat in Parliament, Florin Iordache has been rewarded for his loyalty by the party with a life seat on the Legislative Council.

Şerban Nicolae

As a lawyer, Şerban Nicolae’s political beginnings link him with Ion Iliescu, with whom he feels “definitely” more connected than with Liviu Dragnea, as he explained on a television program, after defending the former president in a trial in 2000. Registered in the National Salvation Front in 1990, Şerban Nicolae became a senator in 2004, on the PSD lists. Here he gets two more terms, in 2012 and then in 2016, a period in which he is noted for offensive outbursts against his colleagues in Parliament, as well as for securing the backs of those with criminal problems in the PSD. Either from the position of lawyer or from that of parliamentarian. In 2011, he received the pseudonym “Voicu driver”, after waiting for PSD senator Cătălin Voicu in front of Rahova Penitentiary. In addition to the outbursts against USR senators like Mihai Goţiu, whom he referred to as “unwashed” or Cosette Chichirau, whom he called “stupid,” the current Senate president made even more Nazi references to President Klaus Iohannis. He will run again for parliament on the lists of the Ecological Party, along with his former PSD colleague Cătălin Rădulescu, known as “Machine Gun”. PER is in the margin of error of the polls.

Nicolae Bacalbaşa

Anesthesiologist by profession, Nicolae Bacalbaşa became known to the public since he was a spokesperson for the Galati County Hospital, when he had frequent appearances on television stations. In the period 2012-2016, he was president of the Galaţi County Council, only to later, in 2016, obtain a deputy position on the PSD lists. During his tenure, Bacalbaşa was distinguished by the vulgar language that was spoken in the Tribune of Parliament. In 2017 he launched a grotesque attack on Raluca Turcan, whom he told would fracture “if he stumbled.” His statement was followed by obscene gestures. Last year, he addressed USR MP Stelian Ion with “untermensch,” a term used by the Nazis for the non-Aryan population.

Ecaterina Andronescu

The 72-year-old PSD senator, Ecaterina Andronescu, spent a third of her life in Parliament, where, since 1996, she has served three terms as a senator and three as a deputy. She also served as Minister of Education four times, first on December 28, 2000, during the Adrian Nastase government, when she took several controversial steps to reform education. In her last term as minister, Ecaterina Andronescu learned on television that she had been fired by then-Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă, then, in the context of Caracal’s crimes, she claimed that she had learned from home not to go up in a car with a stranger.

Niculae Bădălău

After two terms as senator and one as deputy, the Social Democrat Niculae Bădălău announced last week that he is retiring from politics, but not to retire, but in a warm position at the Court of Auditors. Bădălău has been preparing to leave since 2017, when he amended the law so that he was favored as head of the Court of Auditors. In time, Baron de Giurgiu will become vice president of the institution and will earn 5,000 euros per month. During his tenure in Parliament, the Social Democrat came to be recognized for the double game played within the PSD, the insults brought to Romanians abroad, when, at a party with violinists, he sang “Let the diaspora come, that p * * * m on it “, or because of problems with the law. In 1988, Bădălău was sentenced to one year in prison for having stolen four sacks of wheat and was subsequently pardoned by Nicolae Ceauşescu.

Marton arpad

After more than 30 years in the office of dignitary, Marton Arpad, a member of the UDMR, announced in the middle of last month that he will not run for a new term. A symbolic figure of the association between UDMR and PSD, Arpad entered Parliament since 1990, having in recent years an important contribution to the massacre of Justice and Criminal Codes in the Iordache Commission, voting side by side with the Social Democrats for the changes proposed by Liviu Dragnea’s orders. After the conviction of the latter, Marton Arpad was transferred by the direction of the UDMR from the Legal Commission to the Culture Commission of the Chamber of Deputies.

Victor Paul Dobre

By joining NLP in 1991, Victor Paul Dobre won four seats. The first, in 2000, and then the next three between 2008 and 2016. On May 7, 2012, he was appointed Deputy Minister for Administration, but three months later he would resign with Ioan Rus, Minister of the Interior, prompting pressure from the then president , Traian Băsescu, and Crin Antonescu. That same year, at the end of the minister’s mandate, Laura Codruţa Kovesi asked the Chamber of Deputies to initiate the procedures to formulate the request to initiate the criminal investigation of Dobre, accused of abuse of office. But his colleagues in Parliament would save him.

Cezar Preda

Cezar Preda, one of the oldest politicians in the old guard of the former Democratic Party (PD), has been a deputy for 16 years. In the first months of the pandemic in Romania, it brought various criticisms to the ministers of the Orban government, but also to President Klaus Iohannis. A few months later, he announced that he was retiring from politics and that he wanted to make room for young people. In fact, he had fallen out of favor with the leadership of NLP.

Răducu Filipescu

NLP Baron Răducu Filipescu spent almost his entire political career at the helm of the Călăraşi County Council, which he headed from 2004 to 2016, only to be later rewarded with a seat as a senator. In the local press he is recognized as a “payroll in brief”, after his former head of the Local Transportation Company of Calarasi revealed that Filipescu, who at that time was simply employed, received the amount of money at the end of the 1980s. 500 lei to a driver who wanted to hire his wife as a ticket collector. Police and prosecutors then discovered the bribery in Filipescu’s brief. Baron PNL’s problems with the law continued later. In February this year, DNA prosecutors ordered the initiation of criminal proceedings on behalf of Filipescu for three crimes: abuse of power, conflict of interest and fraud with European funds.

Marian petrache

She entered politics in 1998, as a member of the Alliance for Romania (ApR), Marian Petrache arrived a few years later, following the merger of ApR with PNL, first vice president of the Ilfov PNL branch, and later a county councilor. In 2004 he assumed a mandate in the Chamber of Deputies, but resigned a year later, to occupy the post of prefect of Ilfov County. In 2012, Petrache became chairman of the Ilfov County Council, a position he held until the local elections last month. In March this year, he stated in an interview for “Adevărul” that he would no longer run for a new term and would instead open the NLP roster in the Senate, aiming for a ministerial position in the future liberal government. In the meantime, however, the Liberals’ plans changed and Ludovic Orban removed Petrache from the list.

Varujan Vosganian

Varujan Vosganian, of Armenian descent, is an economist and writer. He entered politics in 1990, when he became a member of the Provisional Council of the National Union (CPUN), as a representative of the Armenian community. He has been a member of the Romanian Parliament since 1990, being absent only in the period 2000-2004. Throughout his political career, he has changed numerous parties, including the PAR, CDR, PNL or ALDE. At the same time, he was twice Minister of Economy in the Tariceanu government and later in the Ponta government, and came one step, in 2006, from becoming European Commissioner for Romania. A few days ago he announced that he was not running for parliament, explaining that “I have not been in the political world for years.” In fact, you didn’t get an eligible seat.

Iulian Iancu

Having been a deputy for 16 years, Iulian Iancu began his career as a politician in 2001, after working for a long time in gas distribution. He started as a trainee engineer in the 1980s until he became president of the Gas Regulatory Authority in 2000 and secretary of state in the Ministry of the Economy in 2000-2004. In 2012, he circulated several times for ministerial positions, but was left behind due to suspicions that he had ties to Gazprom. Accused of being the “Gazprom man” and playing the games of the Russian company in Romania, Iancu appears in the WikiLeaks scandal, being described in the telegrams of the US Embassy in Bucharest the right of the Russian man.