My thoughts on a fresh stage in Romania's political crisis: A short time ago the President of Romania announced his resignation. Klaus Iohannis springs from the ethnic German minority and managed to become President in a fractured political landscape by projecting an image of dependability and devotion to public service. In practice he was little different from the swarm of politicians who had gone into politics for private gain and were supremely disinterested in public service or strengthening the anaemic democracy which had emerged after the fall of communism. He was just cleverer in disguising his intentions. A smart, martial presence enabled this stolid German to appear a fitting symbol for an often confusing-seeming country in the EU and UN corridors of power. During his first term he only made token gestures to protect the justice system against the predatory attentions of the post-communist Social Democratic Party. People who now roundly condemn his shabby record elected him for a second term in 2019 after he vowed to halt the plundering left's march on total power. But what did he do shortly afterwards? With the help of the intelligence service (easily Europe's largest) he purged reformers from the ranks of his Liberal party, declared war on its natural ally, the Union for the Salvation of Romania and announced a grand reconciliation with the left. Real competitive politics were suspended in the first half of the 2020s as Iohannis exploited his office for lengthy foreign holidays at vast state expense and grandstanding on the world stage (including an attempt to became head of NATO!) He increasingly relied on the security services for what should have been political business, a sinister throwback to the era of Nicolae Ceausescu. The alliance with the immensely corrupt and authoritarian Social Democrats meant it was their ethical standards that prevailed.Corruption mushroomed and the justice system's ability to check abuses of power was severely curbed (with the EU a complicit bystander) . Runaway state inefficiency was shown during the Covid pandemic. Public alienation spilled over into backing for fringe extremists, who beat the nationalist drum but backed Vladimir Putin's designs for Eurasia. The runaway extremism of their presidential candidate Calin Georgescu was well-known to the sprawling Romanian intelligence world. The powers of President Iohannis place it under his control. But he allowed pro-Russian defence officials and spooks to acquire influence as he claimed to be a friend of 🇺🇦 in its war with Putin. A low grade status quo, comprised of venal parties, got the shock of its life when Georgescu emerged the winner in the first round of presidential elections. On the eve of round 2 he was disqualified by the Constitutional Court and the elections - postponed, twice - are now due to take place in May. There is no doubt that online social media manipulation worked strongly in favour of this largely unknown dark horse but the incompetent Romanian authorities were unable to set out categoric evidence or identify the exact role of Russia.Nevertheless, they cancelled a democratic election. Iohannis became the symbol of the society's contempt for a corrupt ruling order. Supposed to retire on 21 December he agreed to extend his term. But soon his party sponsors realised what a disastrous error it was to prop up a such a reviled figure. His resignation statement is full of the self-righteousness conveyed in the memoirs of another political leader from the Germanic world, Angela Merkel, who also did her nation great disservice. These are two sneaky, narcissistic politicians who may yet have managed the feat of wrecking their respective countries unless better-quality leadership prevails. It is touch-and-go what happens in Romania this spring. The fringe extremists (in a quite different league from West European national conservative parties) will do well. If they team up with the former communist PSD, I don't see another dictatorship, more likely economic meltdown and chronic political chaos. The taciturn foxy Iohannis isn't the sole architect of this debacle but he made disastrous moves which enabled a shaky democracy to become a deeply sick one. lemonde.fr/en/international/…