No pity for corrupt MEP

On Monday Adrian Severin, the Romanian MEP implicated in a lobby scandal, quit his social democratic party the SDS under pressure from its chairman. His comrades mourned his departure with tears and hymns of praise, to which the daily Adevărul objects: "What Romanian politicians don't understand is that they are supposed to represent the citizens and that they're not in power forever. They can't understand that regardless of whatever good deeds they may have done, as soon as they are implicated in a scandal they must retire immediately to avoid damaging the image of the democratic institutions. Lobbyism is common in Brussels (however you don't take money in exchange for changing laws!). An MEP put it in a nutshell: 'We represent 500 million citizens, not companies!' ... Here in Romania politics is still all about empty phrases, tears and the conviction that once you've made it to the top you're there for the rest of your life."

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