April 3, 2022
A roundup of news from Romania and abroad
Newsroom, 03.04.2022, 13:44
PNL — Gheorghe Flutur, the first vice-president of the National Liberal Party – PNL (in the governing coalition in Romania), was appointed interim president of the party, after the resignation of Florin Cîţu. The interior minister Lucian Bode will be the partys interim secretary general. Both were elected during Sunday’s meeting of the National Political Bureau and will lead the party until the extraordinary congress when a new president will be elected. The proposed date for the organization of the congress is April 10. Many Liberal leaders have asked for the resignation of Florin Cîțu from the partys leadership. Cîțu holds the position of Speaker of the Senate. He is accused of causing tensions within the governing coalition, in its relationship with the Social Democratic Party – PSD, of not communicating with the party leaders and of having a bad public image, which affects the Liberals score in the polls regarding voting intentions. The PM Nicolae Ciuca would be the favorite to take over the Liberal leadership. Openly supported by President Klaus Iohannis, Cîţu was elected leader of PNL last year, in September, replacing Ludovic Orban, after a tense congress.
NATO — Sunday marks 73 years since the setting up of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – NATO, and according to the national law, Romania is also celebrating NATO Day, marking 18 years of membership. On this occasion, a military ceremony is held at the headquarters of the Gemina Infantry Division 4 Command in Cluj-Napoca (northwest), which is attended by the defense minister, Vasile Dîncu. Events are also organized by the Romanian Naval Forces on board the military ships from the ports of Constanţa, Mangalia, Brăila and Tulcea. President Klaus Iohannis says in a message on NATO Day that he will continue to strongly support the consolidation of the transatlantic relationship, which he considers to be the backbone of the Alliance and the community of democratic and security values which Romania is a part of. The PM Nicolae Ciuca said that Bucharest will make every effort to increase and strengthen the Allied and American military presence, in order to guarantee the security of its citizens. In turn, the defense minister, Vasile Dîncu, says that NATO accession has brought Romania the strongest security guarantee in the countrys history, and the country now has a professional, experienced army, which has exercised its capabilities in missions in theaters of operations abroad.
Ukraine — The war in Ukraine will last longer and an intensification of the war on the eastern flank of the Alliance is expected, said Sunday NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana, who attended a ceremony to celebrate NATO Day in Romania, at the headquarters of the Defense Ministry. Russia has said that peace talks with Ukraine have not progressed far enough to allow for a meeting of the two countries leaders, Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky wrote on Telegram. He has added that talks will resume on Monday. On the ground, the missile attack this morning on a refinery in the Ukrainian city of Odessa (south) did not cause any casualties. The announcement was made by the Ukrainian military authorities. Odessa is an important Black Sea port and the main base of the Ukrainian naval forces. The British intelligence reports that Russian naval forces continue to blockade the Ukrainian coast of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, preventing Kyiv authorities from resupplying at sea.
Elections Hungary — Parliamentary elections are taking place in Hungary on Sunday. According to opinion polls, the ruling FIDESZ Conservative Party has a slight lead over a cartel made up of si opposition parties. The re-election of the PM Viktor Orban, the leader of FIDESZ, is complicated, analysts say, by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which has shed new light on his close relations with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Hungary will not send any weapons to Ukraine and will stay out of the war, Orban said at the rallies of his supporters. Analysts say that this is the first time when Orban, who has been prime minister since 2010, risks losing power to a coalition that includes many forces, from the far right, Jobbik, which has redefined itself as center-right, to the Socialists, successors to the former communist party, the Liberals and the Environmentalists. According to political analysts, beyond the ideological differences between these parties, the key word for the entire opposition is “anything but Orban.” In Romania, according to different survey, 90% of the ethnic Hungarians who also have Hungarian citizenship support the list of the conservative alliance FIDESZ-KDPN (Christian Democratic Peoples Party).
Elections Serbia — On Sunday, Serbians are electing their president, parliamentarians and new local government officials. Eight candidates are running for president, and 19 political parties have submitted lists for the early parliamentary elections. The latest on-time elections, boycotted by the opposition, were held in June 2020 and caused severe criticism from the European Commission, which noted the overwhelming advantage that the Serbian press gave to the power, excessively praising its alleged successes. Even this springs election does not seem to promise major changes to Belgrades top power. Polls credit the ruling Serbian Progressive Party with more than 50 percent of the vote. The presidential election, analysts say, will be a simple formality for the current head of state, Aleksandar Vucic, who is running for a second term. (LS)
