BUCHAREST: Romania’s leftist leader Mircea Geoana saw his chances of winning the December 6 presidential election run-off rise yesterday when his party won the backing of a centrist grouping to jointly form a new government.
After an inconclusive first round on Sunday, both Geoana and incumbent President Traian Basescu need to attract voters from the centrists, whose candidate Crin Antonescu came third. The winner will play a vital role in solving a government crisis that has delayed aid from a 20 billion euro package led by the International Monetary Fund by nominating a prime minister tasked with overseeing deep economic reform.
“We decided to work on an anti-crisis government programme and support Mircea Geoana on the condition we sign an agreement,” Antonescu told reporters after a party meeting.
Commentators agree any government built by Geoana and Antonescu would have a shot at political stability after months of bickering that has angered voters and upset financial markets.
But many say such an alliance would be riven by policy differences over painful fiscal reforms and would likely drag its feet on fighting endemic corruption in Romania.
Both Antonescu’s Liberal Party and Geoana support a provincial city mayor Klaus Johannis, a member of Romania’s ethnic Germany minority, for prime minister.
“We see a competitive advantage for Geoana because of his efforts to unite around a programme with an independent prime minister,” said commentator Cristian Patrasconiu. Almost complete results showed Basescu winning 32 percent of Sunday’s vote against Geoana’s 31 percent and Antonescu’s 20 percent.
The Romanian leu edged up versus the euro in line with regional sentiment as markets awaited more clarity on the election result.
Geoana’s Social Democrats (PSD) met earlier on Tuesday and were expected to announce their backing for Johannis later in the day. “(Johannis) is what Romanians want,” senior PSD member Adrian Nastase told reporters ahead of the meeting. Basescu appeared increasingly isolated after his efforts to invite Antonescu’s centrists to negotiate failed.
