What the newspapers say: February 22, 2010

Most newspapers read about the new Social Democratic Party President, Victor Ponta elected in the party congress this weekend. One newspaper reveals a possible blackmail of one of the main candidates to the highest position, Cristian Diaconescu. Elsewhere in the news, Romanian director Florin Serban won the Jury’s Prize and the Alfred Bauer prize at the Berlin Film Festival. At a regional level, the crisis in Greece will cost Romania 600 million euro.

Most newspapers on Monday read about the new President of the Social Democratic Party, Victor Ponta, and his new mandate. Currently, the old guard of the Party will attempt to regain power while the team Ponta will have to work with, Geoana and Vanghelie’s wing, is highly represented in the party’s leadership, Evenimentul Zilei reads.

Contrary to Geoana, Ponta takes off a new mandate with the support of Iliescu and Adrian Nastase. However, this is not necessarily a good thing. It remains to be seen how much influence informal leaders will have on Ponta.

Romania libera reveals some blackmail potential which might have determined Cristian Diaconescu to withdraw from the race at the Congress. Former Foreign Affairs minister and ex-candidate to the Social Democratic President position, Cristian Diaconescu has been monitored non stop for ten days in February. Diaconescu admitted that some information is true, but considers that the monitoring is illegal.

Diaconescu withdrew from the race 10 minutes before the voting started and admitted that he visited the Romanian Intelligence Service headquarters to have a chat regarding a project related to the anti-missile shield.

Diaconescu did not explain why he withdrew from the face, and implied that he was forced to do it. Sources declared that a surveillance was only legal if Diaconescu was suspect in a felony. However, the surveillance was most probably made by private companies unrelated to the state.

According to sources, Diaconescu’s surveillance report contains 36 pages and has compromising pictures as well.

Gandul reads about Romanian director Florin Serban who won two prizes at the Berlin Film Festival, the Jury’s Big Prize and the Alfred Bauer Prize. The newspaper qualifies Serban’s gain as the first brand for the country.

Romanian movie critic Irina Margareta Nistor said that the gains of the Romanian movie When I want to whistle, I whistle are very good signs for the Romanian movie industry. Shortly after the ceremony, President Traian Basescu called to congratulate him. Serban says that Basescu called him and his team to have a coffee at Cotroceni, in an un-official visit.

The big director Werner Herzog, President of the main competition jury told Serban that he loved the Romanian movie and even from the start, he wanted to give him the Big Jury Prize and an exclamation mark. The exclamation mark was the Alfred Bauer prize.

In an interview with the Romanian young director, Gandul reveals the man behind the scenes: Florin Serban studied in the States and finished the Philosophy Faculty. His parents, simple folks would have wanted him to become a professor.

Serban says about his movie that it was made for the Romanian public: it has a Romanian subject, a Romanian problem. However, he declared that his chance as a director is in Europe and Romania not in the States.

Cotidianul reads that the Romanian National Central Bank will have to contribute with 629 million euro to the Central European Bank’s plan to send 25 billion euro to save Greece. According to the German magazine Der Spiegel, German Finance minister prepared a plan according to which euro zone member countries will offer Greece 20 to 25 billion euro and the contribution of each country will be calculated depending on the participation held at the Bank.

Therefore, Romania will have to give about 629 million euro to the European Central Bank. National Central Bank counselor, Adrian Vasilescu, however declared that the Central European Bank did not contact Romania yet. Vasilescu said that usually, the decisions of the bank are not optional.