Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has played a “flawless” political game to bring the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the winner of the December 11 parliamentary elections in Romania, in a difficult situation, according to former President Traian Basescu.

President Klaus Iohannis positioned himself as an adversary of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and of the cabinet led by Sorin Grindeanu from the start and was the first to react to the Government's controversial decision to change the Criminal Code with an emergency ordinance adopted in a late meeting on Tuesday, January 31. The ordinance, which decriminalized some corruption offences, sparked the biggest protests Romania has seen in the last 25 years and determined negative reactions from local business associations, embassies, and Romania's international partners. Despite the Government's attempt to calm the protesters by repealing the ordinance on Sunday, the protests continued with tens of thousands of people in the streets asking for the Government's resignation on Monday.

“He played the Social-Democrats, who were arrogant as ever. They are humble only until they win. When they win, they become arrogant the very next day. And (PSD leader-e.n.) Dragnea thought that the world was his and that he was the country’s number one man. Rightly or wrongly, Iohannis has played them step by step until he pinned them against the wall. This is the reality,” Basescu said in a talk show at local B1 TV news channel, according to Agerpres.

He thinks that the President’s transformation also comes from better advisers.

“Iohannis played flawlessly the card of putting PSD in the corner, he played perfectly (...) I don’t know what happened but he played flawlessly for bringing PSD in a difficult situation, using their own mistakes, their indifference, and their conviction that if they took 45% of the votes in the elections that should keep them warm. I think that, if one makes a poll today, they don’t have more than 20%,” said Basescu, who is no stranger to political games himself. “I am a political game consumer, I don’t play anymore,” he said.

The former President also said that Klaus Iohannis would reap the laurels with his speech in the Parliament on Tuesday. “I would do the same,” he added.

However, Basescu thinks that PSD will continue to govern, even if the cabinet led by Sorin Grindeanu resigns or falls after a no-confidence motion.

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editor@romania-insider.com