The Prime Minister of Romania announced that the PSD mayor of Crevedia will be expelled from the party, but the stakes of the move are much deeper: an internal struggle between influential camps in the social-democratic formation.
Paul Stănescu is expected with a signal regarding the mayor of Caracal PHOTO Mediafax
Marcel Ciolacu’s announcement regarding the imminent exclusion of Florin Petre came in the middle of the night on Tuesday. “I will propose the exclusion of the mayor of Crevedia in the next National Political Council, starting at the end of the week. A mayor who “didn’t know” and who doesn’t care about the tragedy that the community that elected him is going through has no business in PSD!”, was the message published on Ciolacu’s Facebook page.
According to “Adevărul” information, the final straw was the intervention of the mayor of Crevedia from Antena 3. Asked how he sees the fact that President Klaus Iohannis stated that the authorities cannot shrug their shoulders and say that they did not know what was happening in locality, the mayor of Crevedia, from whom the PSD-ists expected more restraint, gave a surprising answer. “He can say anything. But the situation is as I presented it. It’s his opinion”, said Florin Petre, who also led PSD Crevedia.
With an eye on the mayor of Caracal
PSD sources claim that the president of the party is trying to maintain a good collaboration with the head of state, especially since the leader from the Cotroceni Palace avoided any possible criticism at the level of the central administration, appreciating the speed and way of managing the situation following the Crevedia tragedy. But Marcel Ciolacu also moved in the plan of power games within the PSD. Because the prime minister abandons a man from a locality with approximately 8,000 inhabitants, but also moves the ball into the court of an important leader of the formation, Paul Stănescu, general secretary who politically supported the mayor of Caracal, Ion Doldurea. The mayor is the father of the owner of the LPG station in Crevedia where the explosions took place, resulting in two deaths and 56 injuries. The LPG business would have belonged to the mayor before he won the election.
Paul Stănescu is the one who imposed Doldurea in the political confrontations in Olt county, in 2019, when there were internal fights between him and the Ciocan family, supported at that time by Darius Vâlcov, a person in the entourage of the PSD president at that time, Liviu Dragnea . In the end, Paul Stănescu was the one who won and imposed Doldurea as interim head of PSD Caracal, and in 2020 he was a candidate and became mayor. Nor was it difficult in a county where PSD is almost the only party that matters. 95 out of 112 localities were won by the PSD in the local elections of 2020, with the social democrats winning all the important cities: Slatina, Olt, Corabia. And in the parliamentary elections, Paul Stănescu’s organization came first (according to the ranking of PSD branches) in terms of percentage, taking over 50%.
Chain problems for Stanescu and Firea
Therefore, Paul Stănescu is a hard nut in the PSD and an influential member, being in touch with leaders from the branches of the country ever since Dragnea, then Viorica Dăncilă, were at the head of the party. Now, between Ciolacu’s team and Stănescu’s team plus Firea, behind-the-scenes battles are taking place. And the stake at this moment is whether Stănescu will also hand over Doldurea’s exclusion from the PSD.
Since coming to government, the Stănescu-Firea team has been much more affected by scandals than Ciolacu’s. The first time it happened when the DNA accusations of abuse of office appeared against Adrian Chesnoiu, at that time Minister of Agriculture. Chesnoiu was Stanescu’s man in the Ciucă Government. Chesnoiu resigned in June 2022. Later, although the general secretary of the PSD wanted to make Florin Barbu minister (now portfolio holder), Ciolacu arranged things so that Petre Daea, a popular dignitary, who neither Stanescu could not refuse him. But Petre Daea dug his own hole, through the poor management of Romania’s important files, such as the one related to Ukrainian grains.
Therefore, upon the inauguration of the Ciolacu Government, Stănescu managed to impose Barbu, and this also took place in the context where the PSD president did not want an internal scandal right on the threshold of the voting of his Cabinet. But the peace for the Stănescu-Firea camp was temporary. Because in July the scandal regarding the “horror asylums” broke out, and following media pressure, Gabriela Firea was convinced to resign and self-suspend herself from management positions. Instead, Stănescu was put on an interim basis at the PSD Bucharest organization, waiting for the situation to calm down, so that the former mayor of the Capital could return quietly.
Currently, Stănescu’s power is more and more limited, especially after Ciolacu’s arrival at the head of the Government, but the leader from Olt has also shown in the past years that he can make strong opposition in front of PSD leaders, as happened both with Dragnea, who led a much stronger party, but also with Dăncilă.
2023-08-30 19:16:25
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