Adrian Năstase, Romania's prime minister between 2000 and 2004, became the country's first head of government in the post-communist era to be convicted of corruption. It was a long time coming, according to a blog post on The Econmist website, called "Nastase nailed."

Handing Mr Năstase a two-year prison sentence, the judges ruled that he had used a publicly funded conference of construction companies as a front to raise cash for his unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2004. This, however, was a minor charge compared to some of the other corruption accusations that have dogged Mr Năstase, all of which he denies. "Năstase seven houses", a reference to his multiple residences, was just one of the nicknames bestowed on him by the press.

Mr Năstase may not even serve his jail term; he has promised to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary. Yet although his sentence is relatively lenient (others indicted in the same case got six or seven-year stretches), what matters is that a former prime minister has been shown to be within the reach of the law. With luck he might stand as a cautionary tale for a political class around which the stench of graft has yet to lift.

Mr Năstase was raised in the communist school of politics, and it showed. During his time in office state-run television and radio stations were obliged to follow a pro-governmental line. Newspapers that printed incriminating stories found their entire circulation had been bought up before they hit the news-stands. Mr Năstase took part in huge hunting sprees that rivalled any of Ceauşescu's, and his two wives were both from the communist nomenklatura.

Mr Năstase's truculence in the face of opposition was legendary. When asked about the significant wealth that he accumulated during his time in office, he invited his detractors to count his balls instead.

Despite such outbursts, Mr Năstase, a much-published professor of international law, cultivated the image of a bourgeois intellectual. This helped pave the way for his rival, the current president Traian Băsescu, whose populist appeal and working-class idiom were a world away from the aloof Mr Năstase. The promise of clamping down on corruption helped Mr Băsescu to defeat Mr Năstase in 2004.

Mr Năstase is the most prominent Romanian politician to be taken down by Romania's National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA). Does this mean that Romania is finally taking the fight against corruption, so often urged on it by the European Union, seriously? The protesters who are braving temperatures of -15 degrees in Bucharest's University Square wouldn't say so. Many of them see little difference between the corruption of the Năstase days and the Romania of 2012.

The Economist: Condamnarea lui Adrian Năstase, un posibil avertisment pentru clasa politică

Condamnarea fostului premier român Adrian Năstase ar putea reprezenta, cu puţin noroc, un avertisment pentru clasa politică din România încă dominată de corupţie, susţine un comentariu publicat pe blogul săptămânalului britanic The Economist, intitulat "Năstase răstignit".

Năstare ar putea chiar nici să nu ispăşească pedeapsa cu închisoarea; el a promis că va aduce cazul în faţa Curţii Europene a Drepturilor Omului dacă va fi necesar. Deşi această pedeapsă este relativ blândă (alte persoane inculpate în acelaşi caz au primit şase sau şapte ani de închisoare), ceea ce contează este că s-a demonstrat că un fost premier intră sub incidenţa legii. Cu noroc, acesta ar putea servi drept avertisment pentru o clasă politică din jurul căreia mirosul corupţiei nu a fost încă îndepărtat, comentează săptămânalul britanic.

Adrian Năstare a devenit primul şef de Guvern din epoca postcomunistă care a fost condamnat pentru corupţie, aminteşte The Economist.

El a fost educat în şcoala comunistă a politicii şi a demonstrat acest lucru. În timpul primului său mandat, televiziunea şi radioul public au fost obligate să urmărească o linie proguvernamentală, afirmă publicaţia britanică. Totodată, el şi-a cultivat imaginea de burghez intelectual, ceea ce a ajutat la pavarea drumului rivalului său, actualul preşedinte Traian Băsescu, al cărui discurs populist şi stil muncitoresc l-au diferenţiat de distantul Năstase. Promisiunea de a combate corupţia l-a ajutat pe Băsescu să îl învingă pe Năstare în 2004, adaugă The Economist.

Năstase este cel mai proeminent politician român învins de Direcţia Naţională Anticorupţie (DNA). Aceasta înseamnă că România luptă în sfârşit împotriva corupţiei?, se întreabă publicaţia britanică. Protestatarii care sfidează temperaturile de minus 15 grade Celsius din Piaţa Universităţii din Bucureşti nu ar spune acelaşi lucru. Mulţi dintre ei văd o diferenţă mică între corupţia din zilele lui Năstase şi România din 2012.