Opponents of Romanian president Traian Basescu sometimes derogatorily call him the sailor-president, an allusion to his past as a ship captain in the merchant fleet and his occasionally coarse language. But few will deny his ability to navigate the murky waters of Romanian politics.

The latest political crisis in Bucharest, caused by the fall of the government of prime minister Emil Boc, who had been strongly backed by Basescu, has so far been a boon to the incumbent president, who stands for re-election on November 22.

The focus is firmly back on the president, who has to nominate the next prime minister. Basescu is certain to make the most of the spotlight, which, some observers say, he did his utmost to draw upon himself.

Uneasy co-existence
Having engineered the grand coalition-style parliamentary majority between his loyal Democrat-Liberals and the Social Democrats, Basescu lost his usual means of keeping the spotlight on himself, since he could no longer rely on conflict between state institutions, which helped him maintain his high public approval rating from 2005 to 2008.

With Social Democrat leader Mircea Geoana certain to stand for president, Basescu rarely passed on chances to goad his rival, but after four years out of government, the Social Democrats were willing to take the barbs until closer to the presidential elections.

Presented with an opportunity to step down from government in September, when the education reform bill drafted by the Social Democrats was completely rehashed by their coalition partners, Geoana wavered but decided not to take the bait. Just weeks later, Boc’s decision to sack the Social Democrat interior minister proved to be the final straw.

The Social Democrats accused Basescu of trying to defraud the elections, an allegation that the Democrat-Liberals answered with their own salvo – their former coalition partners opposed pension reform, which would remove the big state pensions for former MPs.

The cabinet’s fall on October 13, the first time a Romanian government was toppled by a motion of no confidence, freed Basescu from his self-imposed confines, allowing him to take a much harder stance towards his opponents than in recent months.

Tour de force
On October 14, following consultations with major political parties, Basescu did not mince his words in rejecting the nomination of respected Sibiu mayor Klaus Johannis as an independent prime minister at the helm of a technocrat cabinet. The suggestion was put forth by the National-Liberal party, whose leader Crin Antonescu will also stand against Basescu, but was backed by the Social Democrats and the ethnic Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania.

"I do not believe in the validity of a technocrat government. Romanian democracy is no longer in the early 90s, when technocrats took on the responsibility for the politicians who remained behind the scenes and played at being puppet-masters with their precious suggestions," Basescu said.

"I understand that you want an independent prime minister. I will not support an independent prime minister," Basescu told leaders of political parties, as quoted by news channel Realitatea TV.

"I reject any proposal of a technocrat government and suggest you consider a government of national unity. It is the only solution for you to stop accusing each other."

Spin machine
Basescu’s suggestion stands no chance of winning support from the other two major political parties - the Social Democrats and the National-Liberals. Allied with both parties at different times, the president and his party alienated both over the past four years.

Refusing to accept the ad hoc majority nominating Johannis, Basescu ensured that the political crisis will not be solved until December, after the nearly-certain presidential run-off. The Romanian constitution forbids dissolving parliament within the last six months of a presidential term.

Should Basescu win, he could either attempt to build another coalition for his Democrat-Liberals or call snap elections and try to convert his success into a parliamentary majority for his party. Until then, although under no timetable when to nominate a new prime minister, Basescu cannot afford to appear as if he was acting to prolong the crisis.

His opponents are equally concerned with how they come across with two months left before the elections. Antonescu scored some points by spearheading the bid to topple Boc’s cabinet and by quickly securing Johannis’ agreement to stand as prime minister-designate. Geoana, who is speaker of the upper house of parliament, will have to find a way not to appear as if he was following Antonescu’s lead, local observers said.

Foreign analysts warned that the uncertainty would derail the tight schedule for public sector reforms, which Bucharest has to pass in order to meet the conditions of the $25 billion bail-out from international financial institutions, led by the International Monetary Fund. Romania needs the money to cover its budget deficit, projected to exceed five per cent this year, and pay salaries in the large public sector.