Our politicians' approach to how to make Romania get ready for the European integration shock is very significant. The only priority electors have been announced about is that one party or the other wants more representatives to the Parliament of Europe. Well, this is what an electoral battle is about. And there is nothing apart from it. What other message have you heard, except from "Vote for we, for the others are corrupted, new Communists, affiliated to occult Mafias, villains, incompetent people, enemies of Romania's interests"? Is there any long or medium term programme elaborated by a party and its team of experts in European affairs? Is there a programme to describe the way we want to relate to the priority development programmes announced and financed by the EU? Why do parties fail to send what is supposed to be new Romania's fundamental message one more time? The message should be the following: no matter political orientations, parties will force their representatives to the Parliament of Europe to stick together and use their power to influence and decide at times essential to Romania's interests. They haven't said it simply because it can't even be imagined. The Romanian group in the Parliament of Europe has never managed to behave as a whole, even if it was easy to understand that solidarity would have meant odds to win. All the other groups prove solidarity. Our group does never prove it. On the contrary, they even got to transport to Brussels and Strasbourg all the local intolerance and enmities. They have driven the others crazy. Our group has sneaked under the door petitions and unmasking documents. They left meeting rooms just when the voting or the speaking was taking place. They made and unmade parliamentary groups... Enfin, they made fool of themselves the way they do in Bucharest. Do you think things will change from now on? I am sorry to say it, but I think the real scandal is just starting, like a preface to next year's elections. Do you think that, once representatives to the Parliament of Europe, the Romanians will care about European projects and debates? Or will they be asked from home to counter the representatives of the other political groups and paint a positive image for those at home, involve their political enemies in all the imaginable scandals and then firmly denounce their mistakes and inability to work? If my information is correct, the domestic campaign strategy they are intensely working on has got as new component the use of future teams of MEPs in Brussels for explaining to the Europeans about things in our home country. There is no more time left for the European construction. But there is enough time left for scandal. The knives are ready and things are already hot. The public at home is waiting. The training for the final destruction has been taking almost 3 years. What do you think? Will the poor MEP risk losing his nice seat for the sake of participating in some debate about what those guys are doing in Europe? Or will the party express orders and the MEPs will be waiting for the first occasion to jump on the enemy, live on TV, if possible? We'll be getting the answer starting with next Monday...

Cristian UNTEANU