Romanian Senate Speaker: Constitution alteration hides Basescu's plan to shoot again

Romanian Senate’s Speaker Mircea Geoana addressed the attempt to remove him from his role and declared on Wednesday, March 3, that this was a the President „more ambitious” plan, which also includes a change in the state’s Constitution that would make him important after 2014, so that he could „shoot again”.

„I’m not completely sure which is the real reason of this action [the attempt to remove him from his current role, n.b.], because it is not for the independents’ sake. Why was this not applied to the Deputies Chamber?” Geoana said, quoted by Mediafax.

He said the action addressing the Senate’s leading role might be an attempt to prevent the Opposition and PSD to act and talk about the country’s real problems, like governance, poverty, salaries and pensions, In this context, he believes that the attempt to remove him from his position could not be the expression of a fear of „a so-called succession war if something goes wrong with the President’s health”.

„I don’t believe in such theories, it’s a false premises”, the Senate’s Speaker added. „It might be the President’s more ambitious plan, and I’m sure that behind this intention to alter the Constitution he hides not only a natural desire to modernise the state – and here are quite a few issues where I agree with him – but my opinion is that this is an attempt to tailor a new Constitution that will allow Traian Basescu, after 2014, to continue to be a key political figure in Romania”, Geoana claims.

Asked whether he was referring to the possibility for Traian Basescu to run for the Presidency once more, Geoana replied: „He can in a different format”.

„Supposing he will carry out his mandate until 2014, I don’t believe that that the reform of the Constitution will not entail a shred, an embryo of a republic that will allow him to shoot one more time. This is a strategic issue for Basescu”, Geoana appreciated. He noted that he was convinced that attacks on him as the Senate’s Speaker will continue.

PDL Senate group leader Traian Constantin Igas announced on Wednesday, during the Senate’s plenum, that following the refusal to make the independents’ request addressing commission seats subject to votes, PDL will initiate the procedure of suspending the Senate’s Speaker Mircea Geoana from his position.