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09. 04. 12. - 13:00

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09. 04. 12. - 13:00

Opposition nominates Antonescu as President and Ponta as Premier

Michael Leidig

The Social Liberal Union (USL), including the opposition Liberals, Social Democrats and Conservatives nominated on Saturday, during a congress held in Bucharest, its candidates for the presidency and prime minister (PM) position, local press informs.

As expected, the delegates chose Liberal leader Crin Antonescu to represent USL in the presidential ballot and the president of the Social Democrats Victor Ponta to be the next premier, if USL wins the legislative elections, due in late November.

USL also adopted a resolution banning all collaboration in local and central administration with the Democrat Liberal Party (the largest in government) and with President Traian Basescu.

"We have nothing to negotiate with Traian Basescu," Ponta said while tearing off the letter sent recently by Basescu to the opposition, with cheers from the audience. Traian Basescu wrote to the leaders of the opposition last week, offering to step down a year early provided USL accepts the amendment of the constitution and the postponement of the legislative elections by a year, with the presidential and the parliamentary elections taking place simultaneously in November 2012. "I guarantee I will step down in due time," reads Basescu’s promise.

Basescu’s previous promise to resign was not kept, so the opposition turned down bluntly his offer this time. Back in 2007, Traian Basescu announced he would step down if parliament suspended him, which it did but he never resigned. The president was suspended on charges of breaches of the constitution but has been reinstated following a popular referendum.

"We don’t need the lies and the poisoned offers of Traian Basescu. We are a party who knows what it means to be deceived by Traian Basescu," Ponta said.

In his turn, the Liberal leader and presidential runner Antonescu said Basescu did not need the Liberals’ approval to resign.

"If he wants to resign, we don’t have to give him our benediction and he doesn’t have to negotiate anything with us. (…) The opposition will work on the amendments of the constitution , which is a serious thing meant to last, and which has nothing to do with the duration of Basescu’s term," Antonescu said.

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