A new lay out of the Romanian political scene
The Romanian political scene has entered a new stage, with the main political players holding negotiations, 6 months ahead of the presidential election.
Florentin Căpitănescu, 03.06.2014, 13:26
With the European Parliament election, considered to be the last general rehearsal ahead of the presidential election due in autumn, now in the rear-view mirror, the Romanian political parties, mainly the parliamentary ones, try to better reposition themselves on the domestic political scene, to restructure themselves or to embark on a new path, securing them a much-coveted electoral success.
The most active of them seems to be the centre-right National Liberal Party, in opposition, whose results in the European Parliament election, 15%, was below the envisaged target, troubling waters within the party. The President of the National Liberal Party, Crin Antonescu, tendered his resignation as party president and relinquished his status of presidential candidate, thus opening the way for negotiations, in an attempt to forge an alliance with the centre-right Liberal Democratic Party, also in opposition.
Pundits say the negotiations might lead to a merger between the two parties. If the leaders of the two aforementioned parties strike a partnership, the long expected and much clamoured union of the right wing that has been split into lots of small parties so far-might take shape, analysts also say. In response to this, the left wing ruling alliance between the Social Democratic Party, the National Union for the Progress of Romania and the Conservative Party, which is the major political force in Romania, has announced, through the voice of Social-Democrat Prime Minister Victor Ponta, that it will start cooperating, at first only at the local level, with the populist Dan Diaconescu Party of the People, in opposition. Victor Ponta:
”In almost all counties, the National Liberal Party and the Liberal Democratic Party will hold a majority. Faced with this situation, we will undoubtedly try not to be alone, even when in opposition, and try to cooperate, at the local level, with the Dan Diaconescu Party of the People, because it has representatives in county councils. That’s it, we will be in opposition, at the local level. “
Pundits say this cooperation is the expression of anxiety within the Social Democratic Party, at the news coming from the right wing, coupled with the returns of the European Parliament election. The 37 percentage points secured by the ruling alliance between the Social Democratic Party, the National Union for the Progress of Romania and the Conservative Party, brought it only a dim and not a glorious landslide victory, meant to bury the right wing’s hopes deeper, in the run up to the presidential election due in November.
Furthermore, pundits say, the partnership with the Dan Diaconescu Party of the People, which has been emaciating since the boom it registered in the 2012 parliamentary elections, comes to prove the idea that in Romania, any party with a certain electoral force is worth taking into account, irrespective of the people who lead it, its ideological orientation or history.
In spite of the moves that are now being made by the political parties, it is very difficult to anticipate what is going to happen in the next months, ahead of the presidential election. That stands valid because time has proven that in Romania, agreements are shattered overnight, alliances do not enjoy a long life and betrayal and defection are a natural of doing politics.
