First electoral campaign attacks: Dan Barna lashes out at Klaus Iohannis. PNL starts signature-raising campaign for Iohannis on August 10

In a press conference in Sibiu on Friday, Dan Barna, the USR-PLUS candidate for Presidency, has accused the incumbent president Klaus Iohannis, running for a second term at Cotroceni endorsed by PNL, that he is the representative of the political class that brought Romania in the situation of having 4 million people living abroad.

“President Iohannis represents PNL. I am running against him and against other potential candidates. President Iohannis is a good man, but he is the representative of the political class that brought us in this situation. Four million Romanians are living outside the country, because the entire political class has been functioning outside the bond with the community for 30 years,” Dan Barna stated.

“I am the USR-PLUS Alliance and my goal is very simple: I want Romania to become a country whereof youngsters stop leaving. The solution cannot come from the current political class.

A fresh air is also needed at Cotroceni, a new energy. The President can provide the vision to where this country is heading and if the President is amongst the community day by day, not just in crisis situation, we can redirect Romania’s growth to what Europe means. Any other alternative sentences us to changing the horses of the coach”, USR chairman argued.

Asked if he is voted by residents of Sibiu, considering that it is Iohannis’ fief here, Barna replied that “as presidential election looks like at this moment, it seems that the Battle of Thermopylae of the presidential elections will be in Sibiu”, for “everybody will find Sibiu of particular interest“.

The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas of Sparta and the Persian Empire of Xerxes  over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece.  Greeks have eventually countered the Persians’ invasion, ending their invasion. The battle has become an example of the power of a patriotic army defending its native soil.

PNL to start raising signature for Klaus Iohannis on August 10

Chairman of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Ludovic Orban, has told ziare.com that PNLwill kick off the signature-raising campaign for Klaus Iohannis on August 10. He explained the date is symbolical. “To give a signal that our goal is to prevent what happened on August 10 last year”, Orban said, referring to the violent intervention of the riot police against protesters at the anti-Government Diaspora rally.

Candidates in the presidential election must file a list with at least 200,000 signatures. The electoral campaign starts on October 10, one month before the first round of the presidential election, due on November 10.