PSD (Social Democrat Party) leader Adrian Nastase yesterday announced he would run for the position of president of Romania. Whereas the announcement itself was hardly unexpected , the manner of making the said announcement was somewhat surprising. Having been repeatedly accused of disclosing his presidential plans anywhere in the world except Romania (for instance at the White House, as happened in June), Nastase picked a small village in Suceava County to state his intentions yesterday: he will certainly run for president.
The announcement was made in Malini village, Suceava County, where the Romanian poet Nicolae Labis was born. The statement, which was this time unequivocal, ends a long series of declarations and retractions regarding the PSD leader's plans for the future. Nastase put speculation to rest yesterday. The main rumour regarded his alleged fear of potential failure, but also concerned his reluctance to let go of an important decision-making position in the event of success. This is how Nastase made his "surprise" announcement to a group of villagers: "I will now tell you something that some people have been trying to get out of me for the past two weeks. I want to tell you that I have decided to run for president, on behalf of our party. I shall submit my candidacy, so that this decision of mine can become a decision that will be able to provide Romanians with a better chance in their encounter with the European Union. This is a better chance for affluence, for an increase in incomes." The PSD leader then launched - as he had done before - into an indirect attack against his main opponent, Theodor Stolojan. Nastase painted himself as a good Romanian citizen that had stayed in the country even during the rough times and did not go elsewhere to make money - alluding to Stolojan who spent several years working for the World Bank. Nastase was quoted by Mediafax as saying that he was certainly not motivated by hesitation or fear: "No! When Romania was going through hard times, I did not go abroad, I did not go to work somewhere else, to be paid by big international bodies. I stayed here, I worked hard as part of the Opposition, of the Government, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, as speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, as Prime Minister for four years; and I stayed here for the good and the bad and I want to continue to do my part so that things get better in Romania and that people's lives gets better."
His main opponents in the race for the presidential position are Theodor Stolojan (the D.A Alliance) and Corneliu Vadim Tudor (PRM-Greater Romania Party). According to the latest opinion poll conducted by IMAS at the request of the PSD, which has not been made public, Stolojan is credited with almost seven percent more than Nastase (35% of Romanians intended to vote for Stolojan, and 28% for Nastase). This is not highly accurate data, as it has been obtained from various sources, though the ruling party has not disputed it so far. Nastase then referred to another opinion poll, which allegedly credited the PSD with seven percent more than the D.A Alliance.
iulian.anghel@zf.ro
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