Romanian deputy PM doesn’t give up plan to become financial regulator’s president

Romania’s deputy prime minister Viorel Stefan, a former finance minister in the Sorin Grindeanu cabinet, said on Tuesday, November 6, that he wouldn’t give up his plan to run for president for the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF). He made this statement after the Social Democratic Party’s Executive Committee decided on Monday evening to support current ASF president Leonardo Badea for another mandate. “I’m not unhappy (with the decision – e.n.), because I will continue my project, which is to become ASF president,” Stefan said on Tuesday, local Digi24 reported. When asked to comment on this statement, PSD leader Liviu Dragnea said it would be better if Stefan and his other colleagues learned, “given their experience and gray hair”, to keep quiet. The hearings for the ASF board candidates in the Parliament’s specialty committees, which were supposed to take place on Tuesday, were postponed for next week. Viorel Stefan, 64, has been a member of the Parliament since 1996. The dispute for the ASF president seat comes as more of the Social Democratic Party’s members are unhappy with the current leadership. On Monday, two high-level PSD leaders, Marian Neacsu and Adrian Tutuianu, were excluded from the party after challenging their leader Liviu Dragnea. Deputy prime minister Paul Stanescu and Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea have also criticized Dragnea’s leadership in recent weeks and risk political sanctions. The dispute may also weaken the ruling coalition’s majority in the Parliament, which is already frail. editor@romania-insider.com