PSD (the Social-Democrat Party) leader Mircea Geoana dropped a clue yesterday showing political support for leader Adrian Nastase was going down. Geoana said he was fed-up with crises harming party credibility. He also mentioned that out of "collegiality" he would wait for some time before taking the measures needed. This way the executive president of the party is practically left with no cover. The Social-Democrat leaders' formal solidarity that worked perfectly for the assault on Romanian Justice seems to have collapsed. In such cases the party used to have standard reply: PSD members were victims of a Justice system obeying political orders. But despite Iliescu's description of Geoana, this time the latter has guessed he can use this to crash his political adversary. But Nastase's position has weakened considerably anyway. Yesterday he expressed hope that the fortunes of other officials in the same shoes would be thoroughly checked too. Nastase's reply, expressed in a press statement last evening, confirms he is in trouble. He has accused either the officials at rule of conspiracy against him, because they failed to sack him as deputies' president, or his adversaries in the party, supposed to be after compromising him before the National Council does. On the other hand, Nastase has informed he wrote a solicitation to Romanian general attorney Ilie Botos, asking that authorities check on the legality of his fortune. But just one day before Botos had mentioned awareness of press information on Nastase's fortune. Therefore Justice, said to be much indebted to PSD, has now got the opportunity to see the fortune of Nastase has been legally obtained.

Mihai TOADER