Shocking announcement: Nicolae Banicioiu resigns from PSD to join Victor Ponta’s party

Social-democrat Deputy, Nicolae Banicioiu, has announced on Friday he resigns from PSD. The former Health Minister has confirmed for Antena 3 TV he will join ‘Pro Romania’ party, led by former PM Victor Ponta and by Daniel Constantin.

According to antena3.ro, Banicioiu said he wants to join his former colleagues during the Ponta cabinet and he is very upset about what is going on within the Social-Democratic Party.

“I’ve decided to join the former colleagues during the Ponta cabinet, a period during which we made a lot of good things and with which we’ve won the election in 2016. It is well known I am upset with the party leadership, with the lack of consistency and the ongoing de-professionalization. I can’t be partaker with such issues coming from Mr. Dragnea. Maybe he would destroy PSD, as several people have anticipated some time ago. The Romanian left-wing has to be represented by professionals. What is ongoing now within the PSD has no more connection with PSD. It’s a small PDL group which has taken over the power. (…) Liviu Dragnea should understand he must put an end to hypocrisy. There are many upset people,” Banicioiu said on Friday.

He added: “Now PSD is laughed about. I’ve talked to many party members. This is not the party we’ve joined and we’ve grown with. We had other expectations from PSD.”

Banicioiu’s resignation comes in the context in which several social-democrats decided to leave PSD to join the opposition, which led to reactions from PSD leaders.

PSD Chairman, Liviu Dragnea, said on Wednesday that two of the former PSD PMs have rat attitude, referring to the recent exits from the party of several MPs.

“They won’t succeed (taking people from PSD – our note), it’s a rat attitude of two former party prime ministers. As any rat, they eat a little bit, after all, the house would not fall down due to one or two rats. The majority is stable, they won’t have enough votes for a non-confidence vote. They are eager to sacrifice anything so that some laws fail to be approved,” Liviu Dragea told Antena 3 TV on Wednesday.

On Thursday, PSD Vice-chairman, Mihai Fifor, claimed that “deserters betray the citizens’ vote”, while Rovana Plumb said “no treason will prevent us from completing our governing programme.”

Former PM Victor Ponta, now ‘Pro Romania’ leader, reacted on Facebook on Thursday, claiming Dragnea plotted to get him down from the PSD helm, as he did with Mihai Tudose and Sorin Grindeanu, thus answering the accusations of ‘rat attitude’.

“Dragnea’s offenses have reminded me of Traian Basescu and of the fact that Liviu Dragnea was raised by Basescu and was sent to PSD in order to destroy it from the inside/ I am sorry such methods, people and language have been brought to PSD – the people in good faith with PSD did not deserve it. As in Basescu’s case, Dragnea’s insults reveal one thing: fear; fear of people, of imprisonment!” Ponta wrote on Facebook.

PSD Vice-president, Paul Stanescu, claims the opportunists are leaving the party

PSD Vice-president, Paul Stanescu, has claimed on Friday that those choosing to join Victor Ponta’s party are opportunists.

“We are witnessing these days a so-called desertion from the PSD organisations to an incipient party. It’s a small number to influence our governing policy. (…) Their decision is hasty and they are heading towards a political clique counting on the number of members, not on their quality,” Stanescu said on Friday, quoted by hotnews.ro.

He added they are on a wrong path, without return.

“They are simply opportunists, who do not succeed in contributing to the completion of the most ambitious governing programme in the past twenty years. They’ve chosen a wrong path, without return and, unfortunately, they would exit politics through the back door,” the PSD Vice-president said.