Prominent PD leaders jump ship to PSD

Alexandru Sassu and Bogdan Niculescu-Duvaz, former prominent PD (Democrat Party) leaders have handed in their resignations from the Democrat Party yesterday and joined the PSD (Social Democrat Party). The two grounded their enrolment in the ruling party on the failure of PD and PSD unification and on the fact that their social-democrat views no longer “have anything to do” with those of PD. Now that the two Deputies have become PSD members, the parliamentary group of the ruling party holds most of the mandates in the Chamber of Deputies (172 out of the total 343).
Sassu and Duvaz yesterday told a news conference organised at PSD headquarters that they handed in their resignations and joined PSD the very same day without claiming positions in the latter.
“We made no deal, we just remained in the social democracy area to engage in social-democrat politics,” Duvaz said.
He specified he had been negotiating with PSD “for long, since time immemorial” to bring this party closer to PD.
“I think Romania does not really need all those parties, since every single person looking to run for President can get one party, and I think social-democracy must go together,” Duvaz said. He added the very moment all hope for a PD and PSD unification was lost, he left the Democrat Party.
Duvaz also specified he had supported Traian Basescu for PD leader and even made an important contribution to drafting the latter’s political programme, “in the hope Basescu’s will be a more cordial, more democrat leadership and a new political way.” “I did not suspect Traian Basescu could forget this so quickly,” Duvaz added.
Alexandru Sassu in his turn explained he had been trying to steer PD towards a natural option for a year and a half, but the party had taken a different path so that their parting company was imminent.
Sassu specified he had been carrying out talks with Adrian Nastase since as early as 1993, in order for him to join PSD and that he “is long since past mutual hatred.”
Inquired about their harsh criticism against PSD while PD members, Sassu and Duvaz mentioned the “Milk and bread roll” programme, saying they had supported it. Duvaz explained he had been wrong at first to criticise the programme, but realised just how wrong he was when hearing PM Adrian Nastase explain it. Sassu said he had been a supporter of this initiative.
As for PD’s opinion of the matter, Democrat deputy leader Adriean Videanu yesterday said Duvaz and Sassu had stayed with PD for as long as “they could make the most of the positions and privileges” this party had to offer. He voiced PD’s position about the resignation of the two Deputies. Videanu feels the resignation of the two stands proof of the “moral crisis” the Romanian political class is experiencing.
“Political commutation is one of the reasons why people are losing interest in politicians,” Videanu said.
“When the party needed the two to give back some of what the party had given them by investing in their political careers, they just got tired of fighting on the opposition side and surrendered to the rule,” PD deputy leader added.
Videanu feels the two were simply unable to cope with the “modernisation shock” in PD and with the “infusion of new politicians” in the party’s leadership structures.