Florian Bichir: “The immunity provided as a Minister is starting to resemble a shield, or a blank cheque, or even more, the Popes indulgences that used to wipe out any sin and any dirty deed.”
That’s because on Monday, the Constitutional Court has decided that the Public Minister will announce the Chambere of Deputies or the senators in order to request inquiries and investigations of memberes and former members of the Executive that might still be senators or deputies. There was only one case of immunity retrieval (Gabriel Bivolaru), during the past 18 years, so it’s really hard to see how this might happen again.
Faithful to its gang spirit, that obeys no rules and is immune to laws, the Parliament has decided to modify the Law of Ministerial Liability. The deputies have adopted the law that enables prosecution procedures upon Ministers that are also members of the Parliament, with a number of 188 votes in favor, 63 against and 3 abstentions.
In other words, if you have been a member of the Government, you can just sit back and relax. Nothing will happen to you no matter how much you stole or no matter what tricks you pulled.
You will be judged by your parliament colleagues, as Elena Ceausescu used to say.. In fact it’s just another counter attack against President Traian Basescu. If Basescu was able to ask for an inquest related to a Minister, now he must ask permission from the deputies, or senator colleagues of that member in the Executive.
And that sort of approval will never come! The term “Minister” comes from Latin and used to mean “servant”, meaning the person that used to serve tables and later on became the “states servant or a servant to the public interest”.
In our days, the same term can be easily attributed to a gangster, who after covering up his shemes through a parliament post, gets the chance to be a member of the Government. And he will never be responsible for his actions, no matter how low they might be. Every gangster dreams of becoming a Minister and would give anything to escape prison. It’s like a drug, like an lifers ecstasy.
We’ll get to see real businesses growing from now on! No more booze, no more sossages and window imported from China. Millions of euros should come now, along with the immunities. If the Executive members showed some fear until now, as the President could have asked for inquests.
They may all steal legally now, and Traian Basescu’s statement (“Corruption stands at the same table with the Government”) is more current than ever.
A Minister accused with corruption would immediately dispose himself to inquests in order to prove his innocence, but that’s what happens in a normal country. To prove his and his family’s dignity. In Romania, the Minister looks up for excuses, takes shelter to its immunity, screams that he is politically persecuted throughout the media, while their kids are so happy that “daddy’s a smart fellow, who knows how to get money”.
While others have learned to serve, the relation between a Romanian Minister and the people resembles the Middle Ages.