Romanian PM launches new campaign theme: referendum for monarchy

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who is currently running for presidency, said that he would organize a referendum on the form of government in Romania if he were to be elected President. “I believe that, in the coming years, in Romania we should have not only a public debate, but we should also make a decision, through a referendum, on the form of government,” Ponta said on Sunday evening at local news station Romania TV. He said that although most Romanians still favor the republic as the country’s form of government, the monarchy has become more attractive in recent years. “We should have such a referendum on the government form sometime during my mandate, maybe even by 2016,” Ponta added. He said he would even resign from the position of President should Romanians vote for monarchy. In September this year, when he launched his presidential campaign, Prime Minister Victor Ponta also said that a great union should be done by 2018, when Romania celebrates 100 years since the Great Union of 1918. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com