PMP leader, former President Traian Basescu, said it is ‘unlikely’ for him to run in the general elections this autumn, but he would do it following a political analysis that shows that by joining the race he would help the party and is not going to ‘antagonize’ the electorate, news.ro reports. The statements were made during a TV talk-show Sunday evening.
Basescu said it all depends on the electorate’s reaction: “Am I going to raise the party or am I going to antagonize the electorate opposing me?”
The former president rejected the criticism regarding issues of ‘morality’ on the PMP-UNPR merger, saying the new union has no ‘prison-prone’ members so there’s no problem about it.
Traian Basescu explained that PMP had no offices countrywide and no infrastructure, no MPs either, and UNPR has brought all these issues to the union.
“Put all together, it’s clear we’ve set up the third political force. Let’s see if we manage to turn this into votes,” he said.
Basescu added: “until the merger, the PMP members were getting together in parks. UNPR comes with 28 MPs. Maybe some will leave the union.”
The PMP’s objective in general elections is to get 15-20% of the votes, he said.