Another ruling party leader decides to join party of former Romanian PM Ponta

Romanian MP Mihai Tudose, an old member and a top leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD), announced his decision to resign from PSD and join Pro Romania, the new party of former PSD prime minister and leader Victor Ponta. Other top members of PSD decided to join Ponta’s party since its launch. One of them is Adrian Tutuianu, a vice president of PSD and leader of the PSD Dambovita organization, who was excluded from the Social Democratic Party last year, after criticizing party leader Liviu Dragnea. EU commissioner Corina Cretu also announced that she would run in the European Parliament elections on the ticket of Pro Romania party. Mihai Tudose was a member of PSD for 27 years, and last year was elected leader of the PSD Braila organization. He was also a prime minister of Romania, being appointed in this position in the summer of 2017, after PSD overthrew its own Government by no-confidence motion only to get rid of former PM Sorin Grindeanu, who refused to take orders from Dragnea any more. Tudose was also forced to resign from the PM position after only six months in the office, also following a conflict with PSD leader Liviu Dragnea. Explaining his decision to leave PSD and join Pro Romania, Tudose wrote in a Facebook post: “Even in the worst times of PSD I still believed that things will get better. Today, this hope has disappeared after I observed in the past year that part of the party’s current leadership has replaced the public agenda with personal agendas, that any attempt of dialogue and internal debate on Romania's real problems is not taken into account.”

“I firmly believe that the priorities, the internal debates should be about hospitals and the health system, schools and education, infrastructure and administrative reform. About the European route of Romania. About strategic partnerships. And yes, about justice as well. But about a fair justice for all, not just for ‘some people,” Tudose also said. He also explained that this decision comes as “a last gesture” of delimitation from “this way of running the party and the country.” newsroom@romania-insider.com (photo source: Gov.ro)