評論
打印
Romanian politics
羅馬尼亞的政局
Oh, brother
兄弟之情
Traian Basescu is ending his presidency amid a corruption scandal
特拉揚·伯塞斯庫因腐敗丑聞結束總統任期
Left or right in Bucharest
布加勒斯特，向左走，向右走。
THERE is no shortage of drama and intrigue in Romanian politics. Traian Basescu, a former sea captain, was elected in December 2004 after an anti-corruption campaign that deliberately echoed Ukraine's Orange revolution at the same time. On June 19th, in tears, he said: “Between the need to ensure an independent justice system and the natural reflex of protecting your brother, I choose justice.” His younger brother, Mircea, had been put in preventive custody after being accused of taking a 250,000 bribe from a convicted criminal, Sandu Anghel, who hoped that a president's brother might help to get him out of an eight-year prison sentence for stabbing his nephew.
羅馬尼亞政治體系中高潮迭起，陰謀不斷。曾任船長的特拉揚·伯塞斯庫于2004年12月反腐倡廉運動之后當選為總統，那次運動是用以呼應當時烏克蘭的橙色革命的。在6月19日，他滿含淚水的說：“在維護司法系統獨立的召喚與愛護手足之情的天性面前，我選擇前者。”他的弟弟米爾恰被控受賄25萬歐元。行賄的是一個被判刑的罪犯桑杜·安格爾，他原本指望總統的弟弟可以幫他逃脫因刺傷侄子而面臨的八年有期徒刑。米爾恰之后便因此被防范性拘留。
Mircea Basescu claims that he is the victim of blackmail and that he never approached the president about the case. The president blames his brother for mingling with the “wrong people” and insists he did not take any money and never intervened in favour of anyone with legal problems. Mircea Basescu, who owns a meat-import business in the port of Constanta at the Black Sea, in 2010 became the godfather of one of Mr Anghel's granddaughters. He claims that this was a “purely Christian thing to do”. Mr Anghel is an illiterate local gangster from Constanta who made his fortune selling scrap metal from stolen railway tracks and other installations left in decay after the fall of communism.
米爾恰·伯塞斯庫聲稱自己是被勒索的，并且自己從未因桑杜的案子找過總統。總統責怪弟弟與“錯誤的人”攪合在一起并且堅稱自己并未收取任何財物也從未因幫助任何人而干涉任何法律問題。米爾恰·伯塞斯庫在黑海的康斯坦察港做肉類進口的生意，于2010年成為安格爾其中一個孫女的教父。他稱這是一個“純粹的基督教徒所做的事”。安格爾是康斯坦察當地一個從未受過教育的惡棍，他在東歐劇變之后通過售賣從鐵軌和其他廢氣設施偷得的廢金屬而發家。
The scandal comes just five months before presidential elections in which Mr Basescu cannot run again. It is a final blow to a scattered centre-right and a boon to the Social Democratic prime minister, Victor Ponta, who now hopes to become president himself. Mr Ponta and his allies have called on Mr Basescu to step down early in order to preserve the independence of the judiciary. “I think that not only Traian Basescu, but any president in a European country, faced with such a situation, should resign immediately in order to dispel any doubts that from his position he can influence the probe,” he said.
丑聞在離總統選舉前僅五個月的時候曝光，而伯塞斯庫也無法再參選了。這是給原本已經支離破碎的中右翼政黨的最后一擊，也是給社會民主黨的總理維克多·彭塔的福利，他希望自己可以當選總理。龐塔和他的伙伴曾拜訪伯塞斯庫希望他早點辭職以維護司法獨立性。“我認為不僅僅是特拉揚·伯塞斯庫，歐洲所有國家面臨過這種境況的總統都會立即辭職來打消認為他利用職位之便影響調查的任何懷疑。”他認為。
Yet at least for now, Mr Basescu refuses to quit, since there is no evidence of his intervening in the Anghel case. His election in 2004 was based not just on his popular stand against corruption, but also on hopes that he would help to shepherd Romania into the European Union, which it joined three years later. His nemesis and predecessor, Adrian Nastase, was put behind bars for corruption, along with many other ministers, MPs and judges caught red-handed.
但至少目前，伯塞斯庫拒絕辭職，因為并沒有他干涉安格爾案子的證據。他贏得2004年選舉不僅是因為他反對腐敗這個受歡迎的立場，還因為他希望他可以帶領羅馬尼亞加入歐盟，三年之后他確實做到了這一點。他的主要對手同時也是前輩艾德里安·納斯塔斯曾因為貪污被監禁，與艾德里安一起被抓正在作案的還有很多其他的部長、國會議員與法官。
Yet his rivals and opponents have always accused Mr Basescu of going only after political enemies, turning a blind eye to corruption in his own party ranks. Laura Stefan from Expert Forum, a Bucharest-based think-tank, says the Anghel case shows that justice is finally working independently, since even the president's brother is being put behind bars. “Surely this is no pleasant situation. Many politicians would choose differently and rather back their friends and relatives,” she says. She is sceptical that the case will be a big issue in the presidential election.
但他的對手和反對者們經常指責伯塞斯庫只顧對政敵揪著不放，對于自己黨派的貪污視而不見。位于布加勒斯特的智庫專家論壇的專家勞拉·斯蒂芬認為安格爾的案子說明司法體系最終正在獨立運行，因為就連總統的弟弟也沒能逃脫制裁。“這確實不是一個好境況。很多政治家會做出其他選擇而而寧愿袒護他們犯錯的親友。”她稱。同時她也懷疑這個案子會成為總統選舉的一個大事件。
“The Social Democrats are riding high in opinion polls, they don't need this agenda. Mr Ponta basically has no counter-candidate,” says Ms Stefan. Opinion polls put Mr Ponta at over 45-51% in voters' preference. The economy is improving, as is the country's ability to absorb EU funds. The recent arrest of a media-owning businessman has stirred concerns over freedom of the press, but to many voters it is a welcome sign of an improving judicial system.
社會民主黨在民意調查中遙遙領先，他們不需要操心工作議程。龐塔基本沒有重要對手。“斯蒂芬認為。民意調查顯示龐塔擁有約45%—50%的民意支持。經濟正在提升，這也是羅馬尼亞吸收歐盟基金的能力體現。最近對經營媒體的商人引發了人們對新聞自由的擔憂，但對于很多選民來講，這正是司法體系正在改進的體現。
An attempt to reunite parts of the centre-right, with the Liberal Democrats joining forces with the Liberals, formerly allies of Mr Ponta's, may be the only real threat. This group wants to put Klaus Johannis, an ethnic German who is mayor of the Transylvanian city of Sibiu, forward against Mr Ponta. Mr Johannis has done some controversial property deals, but he is the country's second-most popular politician. Even so, at around 23-26%, he is far behind Mr Ponta, who looks almost certain to succeed the sea captain in the winter.
將中右翼黨派團結起來的一個嘗試因為自由民主黨加入自由黨，即龐塔黨派之前的同盟黨，這或許是唯一真正的威脅。這個組織想要將一個德意志民族的人、同時也是錫比烏縣特蘭西瓦尼亞市市長克勞斯·約翰尼斯推出來對抗龐塔。約翰尼斯有過一些有爭議的房地產交易，但他是羅馬尼亞第二受歡迎的政治家。即便這樣，他的支持率只有23%—26%，遠低于龐塔的支持率。看樣子龐塔已經基本上可以確定今年冬天可以獲得勝利了。
