What will be the role of the President to be elected in 2004? Will it be a symbolic one, as the Liberals claim, or will he have responsibilities wider than the incumbent President has, as the Democrats propose?
Will Parliament succeed in changing its image as an inefficient institution, lacking credibility, with the help of the new responsibilities to be assigned after the Constitution is revised?
Talks regarding the possibility to revise the fundamental Law will resume at the beginning of September, the deadline for assembling the special commission in charge with receiving and processing the proposals to modify the Constitution.
All parties, except for Greater Romania Party (PRM), which is quite reserved, agreed with the draft, which is to be wrapped up next year. Even the father of the Constitution, as Social Democrat Party (PSD) Senator Antonie Iorgovan is deemed, considers that this law should be updated.
The possibility to revise the fundamental Law was regarded with interest by both parties having reserves against the current form of the Constitution, PNL (National Liberal Party) and UDMR (Democrat Alliance of Hungarians in Romania) and by the other parties having submitted dozens of proposals.
Despite the different opinions of the political leaders, there are two common grounds from where discussions may begin: the Constitution should comprise stronger property guarantee stipulations and it should differentiate between the responsibilities of the two chambers of Parliament.
These two proposals are supported by all parliamentary parties, but PRM considers that the discussion on property protection and guarantee is a formal one.
For at least two reasons, the governing party approaches the draft of revising the Constitution very cautiously.
On one hand, it has to overcome the opposition of some party cores considering that this decision is not necessary and timely. On the other hand, PSD has to protect its ties with UDMR, while it disagrees with UDMR’s proposals of changing the Constitution.