Ilie Bolojan is not a providential savior, even though he is a mathematician.
He does not have a magic wand. He is not infallible.
I had the opportunity to hear him speak, with a healthy dose of self-deprecation, about failures embraced as such. Everything he has built in Bihor was not a miracle, but a path full of obstacles, which he traversed with determination, method, and seriousness.
He must put them to work to the highest degree in the next three months, in what will be, I have no doubt, the toughest test of his political career so far.
He did not call for it, it does not come at a convenient time, and I do not know how prepared he is for it, while the stakes are immense: the future of Romania.
What he will succeed in achieving, not so much in terms of making changes as time is not sufficient or conducive for seismic transformations, but in terms of conveying as the interim president, inspiring, depends to a great extent on how people will vote in the presidential elections and the direction Romania will take.
An advantage of Ilie Bolojan is that he starts from an extremely low standard of the perception of the presidential function.
It is the greatest damage irresponsibly caused by Klaus Iohannis. Therefore, any change will be noted.
What should realistically be expected from Ilie Bolojan?
First and foremost, to project a different presidential model. One that is respectful towards the citizens. Instead of the emperor president, to present to the people a servant president.
One who is accountable, who communicates without beating around the bush, who reopens the symbolic doors of the Cotroceni Palace. Transparency of the presidential institution and the public funds allocated to it is not just desirable, it is imperative.
President Bolojan does not need to say epochal things, those are taken care of by the salon of land commanders. He just needs to give voice and satisfaction to basic expectations of the people, who should feel listened to and taken into account and start resonating with a high-ranking official again.
An active, firm, respectful president, a true mediator towards political parties, whose re-credibilization must start quickly, so as not to completely destroy democracy.
It is essential for Mr. Bolojan to succeed in maintaining the stability of this coalition. If there is something to be decided, it will be after the presidential elections.
With the "junk" degradation at the doorstep, Romania cannot afford to plunge into the void of governmental political crisis in favor of extremists.
And for this to succeed, Mr. Bolojan must maintain the brand of seriousness, of word as solid as a rock. I have no doubts that pressures, both public and non-public, will be exerted on him to quickly get rid of the PSD and to jump into the presidential race.
But the moment he announces or suggests this intention, the coalition would instantly explode, as would the PSD, which is in a profound, albeit less evident, disarray, and a part of the party would go to Victor Ponta, thus reinforcing the chance of an extremist majority.
Ilie Bolojan, despite his interim status, must be the pole of stability on the current political scene and the political trust reference for as many Romanians as possible. From here, the healing can begin.
The interim president has the obligation to ensure impeccable elections in May. And this involves closing as much as possible of the trauma of the canceled election, explaining everything that can be explained without endangering authentic state secrets.
And, even though he is interim, he may consider proposing a civilian head of the SRI to Parliament, on the one hand, so that the presidential elections are exempt from at least this suspicion, and on the other hand, to convey the message of restarting key institutions on different grounds.
I do not know how prepared Mr. Bolojan is in terms of foreign policy and defense. I have no doubt that he is much more prepared than many candidates. But he can bring in strong advisors to manage emergencies, as there is no need to reorganize and relaunch Romania's foreign policy in the next 3 months.
The fact that he will find only a very small number of advisors at the Cotroceni Palace is also an advantage. I think it would be a disaster not to have a chief of staff, a spokesperson.
I mentioned that this promotion to the top of the country comes at an unfavorable time.
Mr. Bolojan has been president of the PNL for a short time, which he took over in a coma after November 24 and managed to bring it to a decent score in a week.
But that does not mean that the hyenas and jackals, the recycled turncoats and the bizarre artisans of the electoral disaster are resigned and will not want their party back.
It is a period in which Ilie Bolojan should have consolidated his power within the party, not formally left it, forced to lead through a proxy.
The fact that he managed to leave an interim, unanimously voted in, a trusted man, detested by the aforementioned, is a victory, of course.
But a period will follow in which the "thumbs" and the "bozos" will try to block Ilie Bolojan's return to the helm of the PNL after the interim period. A tough battle with the orcs in the party and a harsh political test for Mr. Predoiu will follow.
Mr. Bolojan has initiated some reforms in the Senate, very well received by society. What will become of them?
How will the coalition with its extremely complex balance function after the disappearance of a pillar of this construction as unpleasant as necessary, if we do not want to collapse into insolvency where Georgescu awaits us united with whoever he may be united with and with a monatomic gold mantle, to tell us Dacian tales from Indian culture.
Good times generate weak leaders, who generate difficult times, and difficult times require strong leaders. It is Ilie Bolojan's time.