PSD sets Congress for March 10, Marian Oprisan to run for a leadership position

The Social-Democratic Party’s (PSD) National Standing Bureau has decided on Wednesday, in a little more than half an hour, to set date of the Congress on March 10, at the Palace Hall in Bucharest.

On the other hand, PSD Vrancea leader, Marian Oprisan, has announced before the sitting he would run for a leadership position at the coming party congress, realitatea.net reports.

“I haven’t run for a party position at the congress since 2015, due to the lawsuit, I said it was my lawsuit, not the party’s. I have proved I am innocent and I had no connection with the charges against me, so I will run for a leadership position,” Oprisan said.

According to antena3.ro, Marian Oprisan is one of PSD’s heavyweights, one of Liviu Dragnea’s disputants and possibly a counter-candidate to the party chairmanship.

Deputy Secretary General of the party, Codrin Stefanescu, lately in cold relations with the PSD leader, has also announced he will run for a position within the party, as he is not afraid of competition.

Shortly after 30 minutes of the sitting, Mihai Tudose and Nicolae Banicioiu have left the PSD offices. Gabriela Firea has also attended the Standing Bureau on Wednesday, realitatea.net informs.

Last week, PSD leader Liviu Dragnea said, after the PSD’s Executive Committee sitting, that 27 state secretaries will be replaced at the Congress in March.

“We have completed the evaluation of state secretaries. There are 27 state secretaries to be replaced, out of 96. There are 2-3 cases where there will be discussions in the following days,” Dragnea said.

One of the reasons for the congress is to ‘make the force institutions work properly,’ and to re-launch the governing programme, he added.

According to ziare.com, he said that “we are witnessing heated debates in the Romanian society, full of turbulence, in several fields – tax policy, health, education, wages, justice, pensions. PSD needs to have a very clear position to be defined in the expected debates. The Romanian society needs clarifications,” Dragnea has said.

“This congress is the best framework for those who have written letters to support such issues,” Liviu Dragnea added.

Asked if during the congress he would ask for a vote of confidence to reconfirm the party chairman, Dragnea said: ‘Absolutely, yes!’

He criticised the PSD Deputy Secretary General, Codrin Stefanescu, for talking too much and talking poorly.