The conflicts in the PNL-PSD Alliance continue even though there is little time left until the first test of the elections. Some candidates who wanted to enter the race for the Capital City Hall were not designated to represent the two parties in the governing coalition, and a common candidate for the presidential elections will be discussed after June 9.
The guest of the column “Face the voters”, Victor Ponta, analyzed the way in which the campaign is drawn up and the motivation behind the choices made by the parties up to this point. From the fight between PNL and PSD, the former prime minister says that, at least in Bucharest, the candidates who are not supported by the current power will win.
“In Bucharest, Nicușor Dan can win, he as a person, not necessarily the Alliance, probably the Alliance that supports Nicușor Dan will have 15-20%, there is no problem for him to have a majority in Bucharest”, Victor Ponta told Ziare .com.
About the results of the polls that place Cristian Popescu Piedone in the first places, he says that the profile of the mayor from Sector 5 is in line with what Bucharest voters are looking for.
“First of all, the fact that he is not attached in the eyes of the people of Bucharest to one of the powerful parties is an advantage. In a commune or small town, if you are not from PSD or PNL, there is no point in doing politics. In Bucharest it is the opposite.
I participated in all the elections since 1990, I don’t feel dependent on the mayor, well, the mayor has to give me something, on the contrary, it seems to me rather that I have to like him, he depends on my vote. This explains why in Bucharest only two people were popular in 33 years, Traian Băsescu and Sorin Oprescu. The rest got votes but were not popular, that’s a big difference,” says the former prime minister.
Only in the case of the Capital, the association with the governing parties damages the perception that the voters have of a particular candidate. This state of affairs is not new, but has precedent in all local elections since the Revolution.
“I think that for doctor Cîrstoiu, too much PSD and too much PNL confuses him, it doesn’t help him. In fact, Sorin Oprescu lost when he ran for PSD and won as an independent.
And Nicușor Dan has always kept this profile, yes, of course, one party or another supports me, but I am Nicușor Dan who does not go to party meetings and do not receive orders.
That in Bucharest is an advantage for both Nicușor and Piedone. The more the big parties criticize him, the more I think it helps him. Secondly, he is the kind of political figure, I also told him, it seems to me that he is the child of Traian Băsescu and Sorin Oprescu. The kind of communication for the taste of Bucharest.
Not all Bucharesters go to the Athenaeum and do opera, not all have master’s and doctorate degrees, it is a city where the direct, popular populist style is very well received”, argues Victor Ponta.
“He now comes across as someone who was a victim and fought the system”
Another argument that explains the popularity enjoyed by popescu Piedone is the very fact for which he is blamed. The conviction in the Collective Case, the sentence from which the mayor executed, even during his current mandate in District 5, one year and one month of the four years originally set by the judges.
“I will claim, attracting criticism, that in the case of Colectiv Piedone there was a scapegoat. If the Collective happened in Cluj, or in Sibiu, no one said that we should put Boc or Iohannis in prison. Even the judges released him, he now appears as someone who was a victim and fought the system. What the people of Bucharest like, look how much I tortured Traian Băsescu with files in 2003-2004 until I made him president. How many files does Donald Trump have and I have the impression that this helps him”, says the president of Pro Romania.
As for the chances of the PNL-PSD candidate, he says that the manager of the University Hospital is an inspired choice, but he does not have the popularity that the other proposed names had, but which would have caused conflicts in the Alliance.
“Let’s see if the people of Bucharest will say: let’s be with the power and the system, and from this point of view the PSD did not come with who knows what illiterate or incompetent, but he is not the kind of candidate that the people of Bucharest vote for.
For now, the candidate with the highest voting potential is not chosen, it was also Gabriela Firea and Sebastian Burduja. The decision regarding Cîrstoiu’s candidacy was not because he is the most popular. It was the other way around, let’s not choose the popular ones because they’re going crazy,” says the Ziare.com guest.
Victor Ponta also stated that the candidates of the ruling parties are not voted in other big capitals either. In the rest of the localities in the country, he predicts a crushing victory for the PNL-PSD, who will win the local elections by an overwhelming percentage, in his opinion.
“At the national level, this calculation was correct, even if very cynical: we put the mayors, almost all of them are now from PSD, PNL, UDMR, what was left of USR, PMP, Pro Romania were taken. Basically, out of 3,200 mayors, the power will have, say, 3,199, possibly losing in Bucharest, but it can absorb this loss.
In the rural area and in the small urban area, what the mayor says matters. In fact, all the MEPs are the old MEPs, in their second or third term,” says Victor Ponta.
The presidential elections, a test for PNL and PSD strategies
Another reason for dispute in the PNL-PSD Alliance is the fact that both parties would like to be represented in the presidential elections. The leaders of the two parties announced that they will make a decision based on the percentages recorded in the local elections and will also decide whether they will enter the race with a common candidate. The possibility of supporting an independent candidate is not excluded from this equation.
“It’s very possible, because the basic rule, as I learned it empirically, beyond specialized readings, is that you don’t like people who are too popular, but those who you know will not get out of the rule of the system. Marcel Ciolacu has a stronger party, but Nicolae Ciucă has this huge advantage, no one imagines that he will go even a millimeter from the established lines.
We’ll see after July 10. We will also see which anti-system candidates there will be, because if it is George Simion it will be simple, whoever enters the second round with George Simion beats him. If it’s another candidate it might confuse the power candidate.
The classic decision is to choose the one with the highest voting potential. I think that in 2024 all the elections of the governing coalition will be in the image and likeness of Mr. Iohannis, without surprises, without going out of line and without sentimentality or too much interest in what the people want.”
He specified that even within the two parties certain decisions were not taken with enthusiasm, especially for the support of vocal candidates against the governing partner, Rareș Bogdan or Mihai Tudose.
“The decision was made according to the Iohannis method, you like it, you don’t like it, that’s how it should be done. And the same method will be used for the presidential and parliamentary elections, the big problem comes in 2025 because this kind of decisions does not bring you public support”, the former prime minister also stated.
The chances of an independent candidate entering the second round
As for the scenario in which Mircea Geoană, or another independent candidate, reaches the second round of the presidential elections, Victor Ponta says that it depends on who will run from the big parties.
“Normally I would say that no one has a chance if they are not supported by one of the big parties in Romania. However, if in June the decision will be for PSD not to have a candidate and to support the PNL candidate, Mr. Ciucă, then I think that Mr. Geoană has a real chance to enter the second round.
Because the PSD electorate will not feel represented, but also because Mircea Geoană is in NATO, speaks foreign languages, accesses areas beyond the disciplined PSD electorate. If the PSD has a candidate in the person of Mr. Ciolacu, then surely Mircea Geoană has nowhere to gather so many votes”, concluded Victor Ponta.
The full interview can be watched below:
Tags: Elections favorites Victor Pontas view enters George Simion beats VIDEO INTERVIEW
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