It is beyond doubt that the begging of this year has been no good omen for Traian Basescu. But it has been so for Calin Popescu Tariceanu. While the former is wasting citizens' money on visits paid to Valea Jiului and meditations in front of mountain rocks, the Liberals' president has firmly taken up some main issues of the state policy. In other words, as far as the war between the two palaces is concerned, Tariceanu is leaving Basescu behind, as the latter has kept on postponing the release of the country report by which he will criticize the government's vulnerability. But in this race against time Calin Popescu Tariceanu is running along one disadvantage that is always with him. Although it may surprise readers, this handicap is not the person and activity of controversial health minister Eugen Nicolaescu. It is what Basescu called "the immoral solution." The Humanists who turned into Conservatives are cheating on citizen's money in a scandalously visible way. And the PM is not uttering a word. If Basescu gets over the "crisis on tourism in Valea Jiului" and comes out again, he is sure to attack this point. The gas scandal is the most visible point of the Humanist-Conservative iceberg. It is the main advantage of Cotroceni Palace in the war against Victoria Palace. In one of his spectacular show-offs, Traian Basescu came up with a concept such as group of interests, which he imposed on the Romanian market of political conflicts. As he is endowed with a remarkable political instinct, but lacking the appropriate knowledge, the head of state tried to use this phrase to hit the jackpot, to criticize anything hiding behind these words. It is just that depressingly soon he found out that groups of interests were generally legitimate and necessary, as well as indispensable for competition-based economy or political pluralism. Moreover, his permanent or occasional political adversaries reacted against him. They showed that groups of interests, with the pejorative connotation the president used, existed close to him too, had financed his electoral campaign, but they had done this in order to get something in exchange. And now they started to ask for their right. Therefore the fight of corruption started inappropriately, from doctrine openness. This battle, about which officials boasted from the hill of Cotroceni, ended in falsehood. This is likely to be one of the reasons for the unexpected "break" the president has taken ever since last December. Ever since then he has been avoiding giving tough shocks to Romanian politics. But now the revenge is all his. Both as PM and president of the Liberals, Calin Popescu Tariceanu is playing simultaneous games, as his speeches refer to all the main issues of Romanian politics. He has been ceaselessly invoking national interest and accession to the EU. But he has disregarded one significant aspect related to the government. Counterattack against Tariceanu can aim at Nicolaescu. The hospital crisis, along with the declining credibility of administration, were opened by this very Liberal member. Both issues can be analyzed and counterattacked. But it is the Social-Democrats who see to it. Basescu's hands are tied because he himself demanded that hospital directors should be sacked out of the blue and also because, just as Monica Macovei or Mona Musca, Nicolaescu is perceived as part of the president's group. On the other hand, as far as Voiculescu's Humanist-Conservatives are concerned, Basescu's hands are not tied at all. There are signs or there is even certainty that the Seres-Copos group, together with Conservatives' president Dan Voiculescu, has turned into the very thing Basescu meant last year, although confused because lacking knowledge of politics. The group has turned into an illegitimate group of interests doing and undoing things not to serve the country, but to get close to the rulers and fill the pockets of party leaders. And this is about the energy issue, of course. It is in this field that money is produced inappropriately. And Seres is guilty for the Romanians who pay for Russian gas more than the other three European countries in 2006, although Romania is at a smaller distance away from the source. Until the opposite is proved, we can only witness incompetence and stunning unawareness. Anywhere in the world, the sanction would mean dismissal. And there is suspicion that the devil is even blacker, that Mr. Voiculescu's group of interests took bribe because of which Romanians pay billions. But there is need for proves to be produced, as Seres himself is claiming as response to Basescu's challenge, accusing the president in his turn when he is charged with high corruption. Where are the proves? Some of them are in the president's hands, as the president got himself the great security toy. Since he pressed charge, he is to provide arguments now. As for the rest, proves should be in the hands of Justice, therefore of the Prosecutor's Office too. Right now the president has got the respective institutions in his hands, whether by direct or indirect means, whether through Monica Macovei or not. Now let's wait and see: will Basescu take attitude?

Sorin ROSCA STANESCU