Candidate for a day?

Mircea Geoana will remain in the party’s history, and in the collective memory, as the first leader of the PSD who became president for a night. With „Mihaela, my love!” at his side, the unfortunate Geoana claimed victory against Traian Basescu on the night of the 2009 presidential election. It’s also since then the joke about each party initials, which work out to be President of Sunday Evening, and President from Monday Morning.

Situated strategically behind the president-for-a-night couple, during that night, Liviu Dragnea, the current leader of the Social Democratic Party, was the only one who wasn’t sharing-in in the victory euphoria with his colleagues. Even though it has been ten years since, Dragnea has never forgotten the hard lesson Geoana learned that night. Infinitely more skillful, he knows it is wiser to dip your finger in the water before jumping in.

Despite all possible precautions, he suggested on Tuesday during an interview with Adevărul newspaper that Sunday evening he could announce whether or not he will run for president. Asked if he decided to enter the race for Cotroceni, Dragnea replied: „We will announce on Sunday evening.”

To avoid the embarrassment of Geoana, he declined to give a straight answer, preferring to wait for the election results where he would have a chance to back away in the event of a poor election result this coming Sunday.

Carmen Avram has taken to interpreting her bosses’ thoughts on Antena 3, the party’s official propaganda channel: „I think that on Sunday Liviu Dragnea will announce that he will run from the PSD for the presidential race, and from my point of view, it is normal to be like that.”

The announcement of Dragnea’s presidential nomination, made at such a time, has been viewed as a last effort to escape from justice, a way to counter a possible guilty sentence on Monday, the next day after the elections, when the High Court is expected to pronounce a final decision in the fictitious employment case. In this rather primitive scenario, Dragnea bets on total victimization, as he usually does, in hopes that the judges will not have the courage to condemn a presidential candidate.

By the way, it is not the first time the PSD leader prepares intensively to launch his presidential campaign. He was ready to do so in October 2018, betting to climb on the wave of success from the referendum for the traditional family. The referendum failed, the plan fell apart, Dragnea tucked his ears on his back and rejoiced in silence that no one from the leadership of the PSD was asked to resign.

But something else happened since yesterday. Premier Viorica Dancila managed to ruin his plans when she said that such things need to be discussed inside the party. None of the other leaders rushed to come to his aid, an unimaginable act two years ago.

Calin Popescu Tariceanu declared himself reserved regarding the matter. The reality is that with Dragnea out of the game, the field will be left wide-open to a PSD-ALDE presidential candidacy.

Therefore, Dragnea cannot decide on its own to run for president from the PSD. And to ruin his day completely, Dancila announced that she would vote in the referendum on justice, that is to say, good-bye get-out-of-jail salvation emergency decree, and that she hopes to persuade her colleagues inside the party not to accept the restructuring of the government.

With her statements today, Dancila has done worse than those annoying people who spoiled the Game of Thrones finale. Just as Geoana has managed to be the president for one night, Dragnea has all the chances of becoming candidate for a day.

But everything hangs on the outcome of Sunday’s elections and on the sentence on Monday.

Traducerea: Ovidiu Harfas