Băsescu says PSD's Grindeanu will steer Niculescu government through Neacșu

A government run from party headquarters

Former president Traian Băsescu told Digi24 on Sunday, 25 October, that the cabinet led by prime minister Luca Niculescu would in practice answer to the Social Democrats (PSD). He said PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu would not hold a government post himself but would exercise control through deputy prime minister Marian Neacșu, whom he called experienced. According to Băsescu, Neacșu would pass Grindeanu's instructions on to the PSD ministers, making him their de facto head. Băsescu added that Grindeanu would now and then summon ministers to the party, as he had already done, to make clear who holds authority. He summed up the arrangement by saying the government sits at the party, not at the Victoria Palace.

“The master of the government will be Sorin Grindeanu, but not directly, but through deputy prime minister Neacșu, who is experienced.”

Niculescu's exposure

Băsescu described the government as a minority one with no stable majority in Parliament. He said PSD was taking on responsibility for fixing difficulties that the party had itself created, and that it had left others to pay the bill. He did not rule out that Grindeanu could later turn his attacks on Niculescu if things went wrong or if measures failed to please the public. Băsescu said Niculescu had freely chosen the PSD option, having been given latitude by the president, but that he could not say why the prime minister accepted such an arrangement. He also criticised former prime minister Ilie Bolojan, arguing that Bolojan's tax increases slowed the economy without bringing in significantly higher revenue.

Nicușor Dan and the suspension question

Băsescu said Dan wanted a PSD-backed government because he needed a parliamentary ally, and that without one the risk of suspension, which AUR has been raising, was considerable. He recalled that Dan did not threaten early elections when the government of Siegfried Mureșan sought investiture, and argued that such a threat would have carried that vote. Asked whether PSD could be a reliable partner for Dan, Băsescu said he did not believe it could. In his view, no party keeps offering favours indefinitely, and he expected the relationship to break at a moment that depends on the situation.

“No party gives gifts endlessly. So at some point the chain of love will break.”

He warned that if the social situation worsened, PSD would look for a way out of responsibility and could blame both the president and the prime minister, and could even go as far as suspension if Dan gave it arguments.

AUR, PSD and the centre-right

Băsescu doubted that PSD and AUR would formalise an alliance, saying George Simion's party would not accept one for fear of losing an electorate that is strongly anti-PSD. He argued that some AUR voters would then support neither AUR nor PSD.

“If AUR goes into an electoral combination with PSD, part of the AUR electorate will vote neither for AUR nor for PSD.”

He still considered PSD to have a solid base despite lower poll numbers. On PNL and USR, he was sceptical of an electoral alliance, arguing that both lack a leader who can pull voters and therefore have no motivation to join forces. Băsescu made these remarks in the Briefing programme on Digi24 on Sunday evening.