Former president Traian Băsescu has ordered a ceremonial honor guard to be posted at every entrance of the Palace of the Parliament and declared that he will personally escort each senator and deputy to the voting chamber until a government is sworn in. The guard, dressed in full dress uniforms and carrying unloaded rifles, began marching the corridors at dawn, saluting every legislator who crossed the threshold.
«I have calculated that the current Parliament is exactly halfway through its mandate, and no parliamentarian I have spoken to is eager to trade the remaining years for an early election campaign,» Băsescu said, standing beside a folding cot he had installed on the steps of the building. «So I will stand here, in this uniform I borrowed from the guard, until the vote is cast. I have brought a thermos and a change of shirts.»
By midday, the honor guard had expanded to include a fife-and-drum corps that played the national anthem each time a deputy approached the plenary hall. Parliamentary staff were issued printed timetables listing which entrance Băsescu would personally patrol each hour, and ushers were instructed to address him as «Escort-in-Chief.» A mobile field kitchen appeared on the lawn, serving bean stew to the guards and any legislator who agreed to vote before sunset.
«We have never had a former president physically walk us to our seats,» one deputy said, accepting a bowl of stew. «It is difficult to abstain when someone is holding the door for you and saluting.»
Băsescu announced that if the government is not confirmed by Friday, he will extend the honor guard to the parking lot and personally escort ministers to their first cabinet meeting. «I have nowhere else to be,» he said, adjusting his borrowed cap.