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Marcel Ciolacu - interim Chairman of PSD; Dancila resigned, PSD leadership dissolved
After a tense Executive Committee that last more than six hours, Viorica Dancila, chairwomen of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and former prime-minister, has resigned from office. In her place, Marcel Ciolacu,the current speaker of the House of Deputies, has been appointed as interim Chairman, leader of the PSD District 1 Dan Tudorache announced at the end of the National Executive Committee (CExN) meeting.
According to him, the Stranding Bureau of the party was dissolved and the new Secretary General is Paul Stanescu. Viorica Dancila was named head of the Women Organisation of the PSD. A congress of the party would be organised in a month and a half.
In the future interim leadership there also the leaders of the county branches where Dancila ranked first in the presidential election runoff, meaning the PSD leaders of Teleorman, Mehedinti, Gorj, Giurgiu.
Viorica Dancila has announced she is resigning as national chair of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), calling her action a dignifying moment, not a display of weakness.
"I have understood the opinion of my colleagues, the fact that they want a reset of the party, the fact that someone has to own up to the result of the elections. It is not a moment of weakness, it is a dignifying moment and I believe that I had to resign my position as national chair of PSD. This is an action I took for the party. I think that I did everything I could to get a good result, to mobilise the electorate, but now, after discussions, I understood that a reset of the party is desired and that the reset requires a team to take over the leadership of the party, another vision, another manifesto," she said at a news conference at the end of a meeting of the PSD Executive Committee.
As for her short term of office, Dancila said she couldn't do much in five months.
"Unfortunately, I could not do much in five months; it is very difficult to organise, try to gain confidence, try to form a united team. Had my tenure been longer, maybe the results would have been different, but I did my best," she said.
Regarding the initial statement that she will not resign, Dancila said that what changed was the opinion of her colleagues.
"[It was] the opinion of my colleagues. The colleagues considered that to be good for the party and it is normal when the colleagues think that a reset, a change is needed; that's how a team works. My colleagues could not write my resignation. Had I not want to, I would have said: I am not stepping down," said Dancila.
The former prime minister said she made the decision to resign because she really believes that the best methods should be found so that the party can go "full steam ahead."