PNL says Tony Blair’s consulting firm involved in Ponta cabinet. Political interests and lack of coordination hinder its actions

PNL writes in the governing programme that one of the Ponta government structures is coordinated by Tony Blair’s consulting firm. According to the PNL document, which will be officially launched on Saturday at the National Council of the Liberal Party, Tony Blair Associates allegedly coordinates a Delivery Unit launched by the Secretariat of the Government. In the PNL document, the chapter “strategic groups in government” shows that “coordination units are blocked by political interests and lack of coordination,” hotnews.ro informs.

We remind that former British PM Tony Blair and PM Victor Ponta met several times, the Romanian Prime Minister saying that the British ex-prime minister gives him advice. The British press wrote about a consulting contract between Blair’s company and the Romanian government, but both institutions have denied the information.

In June 2014, the ‘Financial Times’ wrote that Tony Blair has governance contracts (advice to public authorities) in Romania, citing a friend of former British prime minister. Blair’s aid, which was not named in the article, said that Blair could open an office in Abu Dhabi to manage existing contracts in Romania and Kazakhstan.

Information about a possible contract between Tony Blair and Victor Ponta surfaced in December 2013 in the British newspaper ‘The Daily Telegraph’ saying that Blair introduced Victor Ponta to the US President Barack Obama as “a possible future client”. The meeting Blair – Obama – Ponta took place during the ceremony dedicated to Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg.

Blair’s paid a last visit to Romania in February 2015 when he discussed at Victoria Palace with Victor Ponta. He had been to Bucharest immediately after the presidential election in December 2014. Blair had also met Ponta in Bucharest in June 2013 and one more time in March 2012.

file photo