Iliescu's most important quality is the fact that he doesn't provoke neuroses. Having him as president, the Romanians feel more at ease. The ritual of the 1989 Revolution commemoration has been turned into a frugal routine. High officials in a complete hurry, a dusty solemnity, meaningless discourses, fragmentary truths, simulated compassion - all these elements have been mixed up in the commemorations of this event. The public places where politicians show off and ostentatiously exhibit their triumphalist compassion contrast with the frustrated sadness of the cemeteries where so many mothers cry for their lost sons, killed by the so-called "terrorists". All these manifestations are marked by one and the same figure; Iliescu's shadow. This year, the commemoration of the revolution coincided with Ion Iliescu's investiture. This is a pretty unhappy and significant coincidence. The ceremonies' role is to create memory's landmarks. By superposing the revolution's anniversary with the ceremony of the power's democratic alternation, Iliescu becomes the symbol of the post-communist Romania. As a matter of fact, all the features characterizing the recent image of Romania are governed by this symbol. President Iliescu is the man who has to explain both the sinister wirdness of the December revolution and the characteristics of an undetermined transition towards democracy and a market-oriented economy. The Revolution scenario known by most Romanians is the one made up by the "revolutionary" Ion Iliescu. The present president may be declared the most influential person of the post-revolutionary period, at least for having managed to spread and impose the official versions of this controversial event. The Iliescu scenario about the 1989 revolution includes the following compulsory elements: it was a real revolution, and not a coup d'etat or a simulated revolution, Ion Iliescu an