Actor Mihai Mălaimare has joined the National Union for Romania's Progress. He made this decision a couple of months after he lost the trial pitting him against the National Integrity Agency. Consequently, Mălaimare was banned from holding public office for three years. The comedian and pantomimist is one of the founders of the Mask Theatre in Bucharest, a cultural institution he has managed for the past 25 years. After getting appointed on the National Broadcasting Council Board, Mălaimare found himself in a classical conflict of interest for five long years.