Former senator and minister of Culture, Daniel Barbu, might be proposed at the Permanent Electoral Authority’s helm, as sources with the ruling coalition revealed.
PSD-ALDE coalition is to convene on Friday to talk about several nominations, including the one for the AEP, with Daniel Barbu as one of the names rumored.
The AEP president position has been vacant since November last year, when the former head Ana-Maria Patru resigned after being detained for influence peddling and money laundering. The case was related to the last election cycles, targeting mainly the ballot in 2009. In 2009, Traian Basescu won a second term as president of Romania.
As for Daniel Barbu, he is ALDE executive president and was former Culture minister and senator. Barbu distinguished himself for several controversial statements during his politician career.
In September last year, he stated that the politician job is “the toughest”, riskier than a soldier’s mission in Afghanistan, as the elected are risking their freedom and health every day.
Education minister for one year (December 2012-December 2013), Barbu was among the initiators of the special law for Rosia Montana, which triggered ample unprecedented protests in Romania against cyanide mining.
In December 2013, while in Craiova, Barbu stated that the money allotted for the national programme preventing and treating HIV/AIDS is too high compared to the sums assigned to the programmes run by the ministry of Culture.