| REPOSITIONING ON THE ROMANIAN POLITICAL SCENE (10.12.2007) |
| (2007-12-10) |
| Last updated: 2007-12-11 15:47 EET |
In the recent elections for the European parliament held in Romania, the opposition Social – Democratic party managed the counter-performance of not ranking first, as it had done, under various names, in all elections held since 1990. Consequently, Social Democrat leader, Mircea Geoana, has stated he will resign. Not now, but next year and only if his party does not win the local and parliamentary elections due to take place in 2008. Geoana, who chose the BBC to make this statement, has called for his party’s support in ensuring the success of the future elections and asked for easing tensions within the party.
Also concerned about the fate of the party is the Social Democrat honorary leader, Ion Iliescu, who says, also in an interview, this time carried by the daily Adevarul, that the idea of an internal reform of the party, after the 2004 elections, was quote ‘badly planned and implemented in a rather primitive manner’. unquote.
We should recall, though, that back in 2004 Ion Iliescu lost his position as party leader to Geoana. Iliescu, former President of Romania, who ruled for 10 years, also believes that the only rational approach for his party is to find a minimal platform as basis for an understanding with the ruling liberals, whom he sees as political adversaries, but less dangerous than president Traian Basescu and the parties that support him.
What is surprising, or maybe not, is that the statute of the future Democratic Liberal Party, resulting from the merger between the Democratic and the Liberal Democratic parties, will not include a provision that Traian Basescu was very keen on: the one forbidding any cooperation with the Social Democrats. The clarification was given by Liberal Democratic leader Valeriu Stoica, who also stated that the new party intended to win the elections and to govern for at least two election cycles; he added that the Democratic Liberal Party’s collaboration with the Social Democratic Party would follow the normal relationship pattern between ruling and opposition parties.
In the meantime, things are ‘unchanged’ on the Romanian political scene, dominated as usual by the war between the President and the Prime Minister. The scapegoat this time is Justice Minister Tudor Chioariu, who has announced his resignation following President Traian Basescu’s call on the Prime Minister to dismiss him, and thus allow prosecutors to investigate the minister for corruption. Chiuariu, whom the president called a cheeky little mobster, retorted saying that Basescu’s main concern was to trigger unsubstantiated conflicts and turn everything into a masquerade.
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2025-04-03
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