Romanian Senate president Vasile Blaga elected at the helm of opposition party PDL

Romanian politician and Senate president Vasile Blaga is the new president of the opposition Democratic Liberal Party (PDL), chosen by a majority of votes over the week-end. Blaga replaces Emil Boc, who stepped down from the helm of the party after the PDL got worse than expected results in the local elections earlier in June.

“We're crossing a difficult period, a serious period. As you have all noticed, in the last two months since the Ponta government took over, democracy and legality are seriously threatened by the actions of the USL government,” said Blaga upon taking his new position. His main aim at the head of the party is to bring politicians together, reorganize the party and turn it into a hard working and orderly party, which can successfully oppose the Social Liberal Union (USL) by fall, when general elections are scheduled. PDL has been affected by politicians jumping ship in the wake of the local elections. Many joined the National Liberal Party (PNL) or the Social Democratic Party (PSD). Blaga also asked the current Prime Minister Victor Ponta to resign on account of having plagiarized his doctoral thesis. He argues that all he has seen in the last couple of months was "immaturity, amateurism, confusion and populist speech, lies, corruption and plagiarism." Vasile Blaga is a Romanian politician, former Administration and Interior Minister, as well as Regional Development Minister. He is currently the president of the Senate. Blaga studied the Polytechnic Institute in Timisoara and graduated as a mechanical engineer. He entered politics in 1990 and became an MP from Frontul Salvarii Nationale (FSN). editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: gov.ro)