After the fall of the communist regime in 1989, he was initially in the leadership of the National Salvation Front, but pressure from civil society groups quickly saw him ejected. He was arrested and sent to prison, accused of direct involvement in repressing revolutionary activities in Timișoara and Bucharest, and was incarcerated until 1992. Accounts differ on what in fact occurred: one suggests he had no real power and could not influence events either way, one claims he opposed opening fire on demonstrators in Timișoara, while another states he backed Ceaușescu's decision to use force. Together with Ion Iliescu, who was marginalized during the 1970s, he was among the less dogmatic figures around Ceaușescu. In his last years, he actively attempted to justify the communist dictatorship for the national values he claimed it upheld. Alongside other top party activists, including Manea Mănescu, Ștefan Andrei, and Dumitru Popescu, he promoted the idea of a break between the "Comintern" phase of the 1950s and the later national communism, allegedly patriotic and enlightened.