Adrian Veștea (right), launched on the Romanian national political stage after being announced as PM-designate by Romanian president Nicusor Dan on June 14, announced his intention to run for the presidency of the National Liberal Party, or PNL. 

From the outset, many in PNL interpreted Dan’s appointment as a clear attempt to remove former PM Ilie Bolojan (left) from his position as party head. As a result, after Veștea’s appointment last weekend, PNL announced it would not vote for the new prime minister. PNL allies in the reformist Save Romania Union Party (USR) and the Hungarian minority party UDMR also voted to reject the new government. The only party that would support Veștea, it was clear, was PSD.

Troubled Congress

To secure more backing, in a post on Facebook on Thursday, June 19, Veștea asked the PNL leadership, namely the person that he aims to replace both as PM and party leader, to delay the PNL congress, scheduled for this weekend. Instead, Veștea said he would like the congress to take place next Sunday, June 28, giving him enough time to be voted in as prime minister by Parliament.

In the post, Veștea said he is preparing a candidacy motion. The motion, according to him, will focus on “the responsibility of finding the necessary governmental solutions for the country’s recovery. All of this within an honest political partnership with the president of Romania, Mr. Nicușor Dan.”

If that happens, Veștea would run for PNL president from a position of strength, giving him more chances to succeed in dislodging the former PM, Ilie Bolojan, currently PNL president. Once doing so, Veștea will have secured a majority for his new government by bringing PNL to heel. 

Nevertheless, PNL is still set to hold an Extraordinary National Council meeting on Friday, June 19, which is mandatory for the official convocation of the Extraordinary Congress this weekend at Romexpo. Bolojan and his supporters aim to exclude the PM-designate from the party during the Extraordinary Congress, effectively ending his chances at becoming PM.

Internal Power Struggles

Veștea, backed by a faction within the National Liberal Party and the entire Social Democratic Party, is expected to present a list of ministers and a governing program before the vote in Parliament. However, disagreements among his supporters and the lack of sufficient backing in Parliament led to a delay.

Meanwhile, his backers in PNL continued the internal power struggle with Bolojan’s supporters. Having the majority within the party, the latter decided on Monday, June 15, a day after Veștea’s surprise appointment, that PNL parliamentarians will not vote for Veștea, on pain of exclusion from the party. 

In reply, Veștea’s supporters filed a lawsuit before the Ilfov Tribunal to suspend the PNL National Political Bureau's decision to exclude members who would vote for Veștea’s cabinet in Parliament. The lawsuit, filed by 16 Liberal MPs, was approved within two hours of its submission, a record in the Romanian legal system that normally takes years to process cases, even those that involve minors at risk.

In reply, the PNL noted that the decision “does not in any way affect the party’s activity and political options – neither the decision NOT to vote for a possible Veștea Government, nor the organization of the Extraordinary Congress, nor the rejection of political cooperation with PSD.”

Furthermore, PNL stated that the Ilfov court, conveniently located in the county run by longtime Bolojan critic Hubert Thuma, did not have territorial jurisdiction to rule on the parliamentarians’ request, because the party’s headquarters is in Bucharest. Moreover, the Tribunal did not have jurisdiction to judge such acts, because they strictly concern internal decisions of a political party, which are not subject to judicial review, according to a judicial source cited by G4Media.

According to the magistrate, courts are not competent to judge the internal political decisions of parties, because this would infringe upon the freedom of association provided by the Constitution. Other legal experts noted that if enforceable, the Ilfov Tribunal’s decision would make it so that parties in Romania could not exert much control over their representatives. 

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Adrian Vestea on Facebook and gov.ro)