Interior Minister resigns

The Interior Minister, Gabriel Oprea, announced on Tuesday his resignation from the office, a result of the scandal stirred by the nomination of Virgil Ardelean as head of the Ministry’s intelligence service.

Oprea mentioned that he did not accept the nomination of persons imposed by other criteria than the competence. Prime Minister Emil Boc accepted the resignation on Tuesday and suggested vice Prime Minister Dan Nica for the office.

In a press conference, Oprea says that he was not allowed to fulfill the obligations he assumed in his mandate and that he prefers not to stir tensions in the governing alliance. Still, Oprea says that his resignation was demanded because he refused to nominate certain people for various offices. „I wanted to lead the Interior Ministry, not to walk around with some documents under my armpit and be a puppet for some groups of interests”, said Gabriel Oprea.