Romania: Spotlight Shines on Spies

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/world/europe/romania-spotlight-shines-on-spies.html

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The director of Romania’s Foreign Intelligence Agency, Teodor Melescanu, resigned Monday to run for president in the Nov. 2 election, fueling debate about the presence of spies in the country’s political life. The news broke a day after a talk-show host, Robert Turcescu, revealed that he was an undercover officer for the Defense Ministry, which has declined to comment on the matter. The two developments add to popular suspicions that Romania’s political life is being manipulated by the intelligence services. Romania has two main intelligence agencies and five smaller agencies not under parliamentary control. Mr. Melescanu, 73, will run as a candidate for the Social Justice Party, election officials said, facing Prime Minister Victor Ponta and other candidates.