Pressure up on PSD opposition despite signs of relief

The parliamentary groups of the opposition PSD party gathered in a close-door meeting on Thursday to discuss the future of the group, which has been threatened with scission following quarrels between various factions.

Ex-President Ion Iliescu, a member of the group, said at the end of the talks that all PSD members agree with the organization of an extraordinary congress to clear the current disputes.

Earlier in the day, a series of Social Democratic (PSD) officials raised pressure on the party leadership, after the first signs of relief for the main opposition group in Romania came with ex-leader Adrian Nastase’s announcement on Wednesday that he would not yet make a personal decision to leave the PSD.

Also on Thursday, the head of the PSD branch in the Dambovita county called on party president Mircea Geoana to take concrete measures to solve the „deep crisis” confronting the group. Ion Stan sent an open letter to Geoana arguing for an extraordinary congress to elect a „leaner” leadership meant to guarantee political dynamism and credibility.

He also urges Geoana to put an end to ongoing tendencies that weaken the party and provide a new strategy to boost the image of the PSD.

Stan’s intervention came as PSD deputies Eugen bejinariu and Zamfir Dumitrescu announced on Thursday they would leave the party, confirming their previously stated intention to do so.

They accuse Geoana of turning the group into a puppet for the current government and for the loss of identity that the PSD has been suffering of.