Former Romanian PM sends SocDem leader undated resignation from the party

Romania’s former Prime Minister Victor Ponta said on Tuesday that he would write an undated resignation letter from the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and send it to party leader Liviu Dragnea during the day. Ponta’s gesture shows once more the strained relationship between the two politicians. The former PM says he hasn't had any personal conversation with Dragnea since last year. “If I bother, and I’ve noticed that I bother, I send my undated resignation from the party to Mr. Dragnea and, when I upset him very much, he can file it and get rid of me. But I can’t shut up anymore when I see things, I know things, and I am worried,” Ponta said, according to local Mediafax. Ponta has criticized the party’s leadership on a several occasions in recent weeks, after the cabinet led by Sorin Grindeanu passed an emergency ordinance to change some provisions in the Criminal Code, which determined the biggest street protests in Romania’s recent history. The former PM said that Dragnea was wrong not to take responsibility for the bill and said the measure was poorly communicated. Ponta also said he warned PM Grindeanu that a plane with more two pilots is likely to crash, referring to Dragnea’s control over the Government’s decisions. To this, Dragnea responded in an ironic note saying that any criticism from Victor Ponta is “pure health” for him. The PSD leader continues to claim that he and Ponta remain friends. The former PM, however, sees things differently. When asked if he was still friends with Dragnea, Ponta said: “Mr. Dragnea is a politician, he must say <Yes>. I am no longer in politics, so I can say <No>.” Liviu Dragnea replaced Ponta as leader of PSD in mid-2015, after Ponta stepped down from the party’s helm due to an investigation of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) on him. In early 2016, Dragnea was sentenced to two years of probation in a case of electoral fraud related to the 2012 referendum for dismissing former President Traian Basescu. At that moment, some PSD leaders asked Dragnea to resign, but he refused and continued to consolidate his power. Dragnea’s power reached the peak after the December 11 parliamentary elections in Romania, which his party won by a wide margin. However, a series of bad decisions, such as the party’s initiatives related to justice, have seriously affected his position and reignited the fight for power within the party. Ponta’s recent statement confirm that. Meanwhile, the relationship between Dragnea and Prime Minister Grindeanu has also changed in recent weeks. editor@romania-insider.com