According to Teodor Baconschi, the People’s Movement is “a tactical necessity” for the Romanian political right. However, he does not rule out any form of dialogue about a possible PSD-PDL cooperation after this year’s election
The first vice-president of PDL, Teodor Baconschi said on TVR Info that the architecture of the People’s Movement will be defined after the local elections, when “each party will come with its own result.” Known as an artisan of this initiative (founding the People’s Movement), the former minister of Foreign Affairs says it is important for the new organisation to also have “a civic component” capable of attracting all forces, professional associations, trade unions and NGOs “interested by the finalisation of reforms and the continuation of public policies that will keep under control the deficit, so that we are not exposed to the risk of a Greek scenario.” Actually, Baconschi argued that the People’s Movement is “a tactical necessity” for the Romanian right, “which has been divided so far and isolated in front of an alliance like the USL.” “In order to reach a balance in politics, we need a counterweight,” the Democrat-Liberal explained.Asked about the possibility of a post-electoral PSD-PDL cooperation, the first vice-president of PDL answered that, despite the visible opposition of USL to the reforms initiated by the power, he does not rule out any form of dialogue. “In the life of any politician, one can expect a metamorphosis, a conversion, a return to reality, so I do not rule out any form of dialogue. However, now there is still a rather tough political contraposition between USL and PDL,” Baconschi said.Speaking about the initiative of founding the People’s Movement, PDL EuroDeputy Cristian Preda says that it can only start from the idea that it must be a right-wing movement, open to all the opponents of the left that want to support a new government, including the Liberals that are not pleased to be in the company of Victor Ponta. “On the contrary, one cannot accept in the future majority those who will cheat by claiming that a right-wing party can find shelter in a left-wing alliance, or a leftist party has a place in a right-wing majority. The time of such improvisations should end. The major political problem of this year is supporting a coherent governance – before and after the elections,” Preda wrote in a post on his blog. According to the PDL MEP, the main political issue in 2012 is defined by USL. “USL believes that this year’s elections must result in enthroning Victor Ponta at the Victoria Palace and ousting Traian Basescu from the Cotroceni Palace. Installing MRU (Mihai Razvan Ungureanu) at the helm of the government redefined the data of the problem. (…) The premier said that he assumes a right-wing identity,” the MEP adds.The idea of founding the People’s Movement around PDL has been often evoked in Romanian politics during 2011. This construction should have offered a new, cleaner image to the Democrat-Liberals, like some kind of rebranding PDL. In fact, President Traian Basescu himself asked his daughter Ioana, last April, to register the name of ‘People’s Movement’ with OSIM, saying that one must prepare the idea of a people’s movement, in view of achieving a possible alliance. Basescu thus wanted to take PDL out of its isolation and create a big right-wing party. The idea also enjoys the support of former presidential counsellor Sebastian Lazaroiu and first vice-president Sorin Frunzaverde.
