According to a CCSB poll published by ‘Evenimentul Zilei’ daily, Romanians appreciate the cohabitation between Premier Victor Ponta and President Traian Basescu. Thus, 59 per cent of respondents consider that the Premier should collaborate more with the Head of State, up by 3 per cent compared to February. Likewise, an improvement in the perception of the institutional relation between Basescu and Ponta can be noticed. Thus, 50 per cent of respondents deem that the relations between the two are tense, down from 56 per cent in February. The percentage of Romanians that consider that the relations between Ponta and Basescu are close has risen, going from 11 per cent in February to 15 per cent in April, the aforementioned source shows.
On the other hand, 64 per cent of Romanians believe that the main reason that will lead to the break-up of USL will be the collaboration with corrupt politicians, while only 29 per cent believe the contrary. Thus, 47 per cent of Romanians stated that the appointment in offices of persons that were loyal to the Head of State is a reason that will lead to USL’s dissolution, and 36 per cent stated that recruiting PDL MPs will lead to the break-up of the ruling alliance. On the other hand, 28 per cent believe USL could fall apart as a result of its collaboration with other parties on given issues.
At the same time, 48 per cent of Romanians see the cooperation with Traian Basescu as a good enough reason for USL’s break-up, while 46 per cent of the respondents state that this reason will not lead to that outcome. In what concerns the level of appreciation for the Head of State’s activity, 30 per cent of respondents stated they are “fairly satisfied” or “very satisfied” with it. At the same time, 51 per cent of respondents stated they are “very satisfied” and “fairly satisfied” with Ponta’s activity as Premier, while 47 per cent of respondents stated they are “fairly dissatisfied” and “very dissatisfied” with it. Who gained from the appointment of prosecutors? The Premier and President are the main winners following the appointment of the chief prosecutors at the helm of the Attorney General’s Office and the National Anticorruption Directorate (Tiberiu Nita and Laura Codruta Kovesi respectively), while PNL President Crin Antonescu, the one who criticized the proposals made by Ponta, seems to be the main loser of the scandal created over this issue.
Thus, 33 per cent of Romanians stated that Ponta gained the most, while 30 per cent pointed to Basescu as the main winner. According to the CCSB poll, 61 per cent of the respondents consider that by making these proposals the Premier tried to unblock the situation within the judiciary, while 15 per cent ruled out that hypothesis. At the same time, 42 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement “Traian Basescu will stand to gain from these proposals,” while 33 per cent disagreed with it.
