The way Valeriu Stoica reacted at the suggestion of former prime minister Theodor Stolojan on a merger between PNL (Liberal party), ApR (Alliance for Romania) and the Social-Liberal Initiative says a lot about the actual power of the Liberals. Stoica deemed the suggestion set forth by Stolojan as “very important” and hailed his wish to rejoin political life. His sole objection concerned a legal aspect: mergers may occur, according to parties Law, only between parties and not between parties and civic movements as the one supporting Stolojan.
But what did the former Prime Minister actually suggested? From PNL leadership’s point of view, the idea set forth by Stolojan should have been shocking. What Stolojan said to the Liberals, and this in a statement granted in haste to a radio station that managed to contact him somewhere in the Republic of Moldova, was that, some 125 years after entering the market, the moment came for them to close the business and let themselves swallowed by a more dynamic competitor. It’s true, this surrender would be made in exchange for the guarantee that the new Ltd. will thus – or thus only – benefit from his services.
Perhaps Stolojan was not necessarily worth a spontaneous, Basescu-like answer from PNL leadership. But “the most important centre-leftist party,” as Valeriu Stoica calls it, might at least have asked the former Prime Minister for an explanation. Even for a brief one, as also delivered by Stolojan for other unexpected gestures – for which he displays a special predisposition in electoral years – as it was his sudden comeback to Romania, 4 years ago, in order to take part in the launch of Ion Iliescu’s candidacy for President.
The cordial answer issued by Stoica belongs rather to the head of a little party these days putting at stake its survival on the political scene. With 6.9% of votes in county council elections, less than half than their expectations, and due mainly to the mayors reelected in certain towns, such as Brasov, Deva, Hunedoara and Giurgiu, who became mayors four years ago on other parties’ lists and will not be on the lists for general elections, the Liberals are aware that they have little chances to enter Parliament if running on separate lists. And this because Valeriu Stoica, unlike the leaders of PDSR (Party of Social Democracy), ApR, PD (Democrat Party) and even PRM (Great Romania Party), is not a potential candidate for presidency. Each of these parties may hope that its leader, even if he does not qualify for the second ballot of presidential elections, will at least be able to “pull up” the party by entering the race. Valeriu Stoica first has to raise 300,000 signatures. Lacking their own candidate for presidency, who would be able to bring them more MPs, Liberals do have several choices for next week’s National council that is to tackle the strategy for the upcoming elections. An electoral alliance with ApR, implying common lists and support for the tandem Melescanu-Stolojan, which last week seemed the most feasible, not only risks to estrange a part of PNL voters, but also to trigger a scission within the party. A second choice Liberals can make is to run on their own lists, but without their own candidate for presidency, and to support either the tandem Melescanu-Stolojan or the couple Constantinescu-Isarescu. The main risk triggered by this option is that votes for potential presidents may be transferred to the parties they are coming from and subsequently PNL may fail to enter Parliament, the same as in 1992. The third choice is to take part in elections, the same as in the previous elections, together with PN?CD (Peasants Party) or a wider centre-right alliance. This final solution is the only one that PNL leadership may recommend as logical and consistent, without jeopardising its chances to enter Parliament. In the National Council, PNL only has to go for the least evil.