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PNL chair Nicolae Ciuca announces presidential candidacy for 2024 election
National leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL) Nicolae Ciuca has confirmed that he will run in this year's presidential election, saying that he will travel to each PNL chapter branch in the country, will have meetings with the electorate, with the party grassroots, with chapter leaders, and his decision will be made official at a convention of the National Council of the National Liberal Party.
"I am running. (...) I come from a professional culture that is formed in such a way that it is balanced, have certain attributes in terms of leadership, management, and I've tried out of my own conviction when I enter politics to bring all these issues with me. That is why I have very much supported the need for stability, dialogue, balance and I believe that in principle I have succeeded. I anticipated what was going to happen, at least during the time when I was prime minister there were particularly complicated decisions to be made. (...) There were a whole series of challenges that needed to be met, balanced approach, and I considered it absolutely necessary that all these attributes of a leader - not only in politics but wherever one carries out his activity - should be valued. As such, I made this decision as PNL national leader as well to run. I am somewhat compelled by the commitment I made to the National Political Bureau some time ago, when, in Sinaia, I announced that we would have an approach through which we would put into practice the motto 'Through ourselves' - my colleagues in the Bureau asked me: 'Mr President, you are asking us to do what we have to do. Are you committing yourself, are you running?'. And I answered them yes, I will be running. Now I want to reiterate this commitment made before the National Political Bureau," Nicolae Ciuca told Digi 24 private broadcaster on Tuesday.
The PNL leader explained why he made the announcement regarding his presidential candidacy in Washington DC, where he attended a meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly part of a NATO summit.
"It was an absolute matter of respect. I didn't do it in America, I stood for several interviews, because there were several requests for interviews there, I even went to three different channels, one of which asked me if I would run and taking into account that it was as close as possible to all the activities that took place after the local elections and the decisions made about and for the calendar of the upcoming elections, I considered it normal and natural to answer that question (...)"
About the fact that the national leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) - PNL's partner in the ruling coalition in Romania- Marcel Ciolacu mocked his announcement made in Washington, Ciuca said that he understands these pre-campaign attacks.
He denied the fact that President Klaus Iohannis had asked him to replace him at the reception offered by US President Joe Biden in honour of the NATO heads of state or government, statements made by Save Romania Union (USR) MP Claudiu Nasui.
Regarding his chances in the presidential race, the PNL leader said he is convinced that he will make it to the run-off, pointing out that the Liberals are ready for the electoral battle.
At the beginning of this month, the PSD-PNL governing coalition decided the electoral calendar for the presidential and parliamentary elections, the former to be held on November 24 and December 8 respectively, and the legislative elections on December 1.
PSD is expected to announced their presidential candidate at the party’s Congress on August 24.
PSD chairman Marcel Ciolacu, Ciuca’s ruling partner, made several sarcastic remarks after the Liberal chair announced from Washington his intention to run for president.
Asked when he is going to make his own announcement to run for President, Ciolacu replied:
“Certainly not when I go to Washington. When I first saw it I thought he signed up for the Democratic convention this year to replace President Biden. If this announcement is needed, I will definitely make it in Romania”.
The PSD leader was also asked, on Tuesday, about the possibility of President Klaus Iohannis being prime minister after the autumn elections and he said: “I have no problems, maybe, but he has to win the elections”.
Questioned about a possible tandem Nicolae Ciuca, president – Klaus Iohannis, prime minister, Ciolacu said: “You wouldn’t want to ask them. I can hardly resist, I can hardly resist (…) Yes, yes, imagining the performance”.