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After more than 7 hours of sterile discussions, the negotiations for the division of positions in the government PNL-USR PLUS -UDMR were suspended due to the stubbornness of the presidents of the USR and the PNL to claim the same position, that of president of the Chamber of Deputies. There is a chance that the talks, which will resume on Sunday, will not produce results before Monday, when President Klaus Iohannis will convene the parties for consultations. What is the real reason why the office of president of the Chamber of Deputies has become so important that none of them can resign from it?
Apparently, it would be about sharing power within the future alliance between PNL, USR PLUS and UDMR. Liberals say they got the most votes in the March 6 election, 10% more than USR PLUS, for which they deserve two-thirds of power, with one-third to be split between USR PLUS and UDMR.
The USR PLUS requires that the division be made according to the principle of 1 to 1 to 1, that is, that each receives equally one of the first three positions: prime minister, president of the Chamber of Deputies and president of the Senate. UDMR supports this view.
In fact, however, the discussions are blocked for a very simple reason: both Dan Barna and Ludovic Orban are MPs. If one of them were a senator, the negotiations would have been easier, because one of them could have been president of the Chamber of Deputies, and the other, president of the Senate.
Why is it crucial that Barna and Orban are Speakers of Parliament?
Because the fate of both depends on the functions they will obtain in these negotiations.
Dan Barna is hugely criticized and hated within USR and even in the USR PLUS equation. Every day there are requests from members like him and his friend, Cristian Ghinea MEP, who is said to be the real leader of the party, to resign.
With the same frequency, members of the USR announce their resignations from the party in protest against the policies of Dan Barna, accused of purifying the interior, eliminating all opponents and the poor results of the elections.
Not far from yesterday, even from Allen Coliban’s team, the mayor of Brașov, extremely popular within USR, told Barna that it would be time to resign.
Parallel to the problems he has within USR, Dan Barna has a big problem with the PLUS allies. After Congress approved the merger between USR and PLUS, the PLUS leaders, much more adept at negotiating and more versed in political strategy, consistently pursued a hegemonic policy, almost completely capturing the politics of the alliance and targeting take full power in the future USRPLUS party. and in government, now.
Barna’s problems at USR
Before the parliamentary elections, Dan Barna received a blow that, probably due to lack of political experience, he did not expect: Dacian Cioloș announced that he will run for the post of president of the unified party USRPLUS, in the January congress.
This would mean that Barna, who has so far refused to resign at the request of his own party members, will lose his presidency anyway and probably any other position in the leadership structure of the future party that will officially be born in that Congress. .
To make it easier for users to swallow the movement of everyone under PLUS ‘command, the people of Cioloș are considering establishing a post of chief executive, a party number two, which could go to USR, possibly to Cătălin Drulă.
Barna’s problems in negotiations for the government
Those of PLUS insist, curiously, on the negotiations for the Vila Lac government, due to an impossible situation, both for the PNL and for his colleague, Barna.
If the PNL theoretically takes the position of prime minister and Barna would be president of the Chamber of Deputies, PLUS wants the leadership of the Senate. PLUS considers itself strong enough within the USR PLUS alliance to claim an institutional balance between it and USR, through representation in the top positions in the state.
The intention is to pressure the Liberals to offer the post of Deputy Prime Minister in exchange, but they don’t see Dan Barna here, but Dragoș Pâslaru. This function should have responsibilities for the European funds and the management of the resilience plan, that is, the one that will coordinate the 80 billion euros allocated to Romania through the EU resilience plan.
In conclusion, if Dan Barna loses the position of president of the Chamber of Deputies, he will cease to be president of USRPLUS, he will not be deputy prime minister, he will end his political career as a simple deputy, without relevance and influence.
Ludovic Orban, without possibilities of political survival if he loses the leadership of the Chamber of Deputies
On the other hand, Ludovic Orban shares with Dan Barna the same possibilities of political survival, in case he does not receive the position of president in the Chamber of Deputies.
Orban plays everything in the negotiations with USR PLUS and UDMR, because he has no other solution. His relationship with President Klaus Iohannis no longer exists after Orban forced him to appoint the prime minister. The president wanted Nicolae Ciuca to head the government, but Orban calculated that if Iohannis installed a soldier in the Victoria Palace, who dismantled his network of influence in the government from day one, his position as head of the NLP would be threatened and even annihilated. . .
An NLP Congress is expected in April, in which Iohannis would like the party to signal change and replace the leadership. The change would implicitly mean that Ludovic Orban would cease to be party president.
Even if Florin Cîțu were prime minister and Orban would remain president of the NLP, the balance of power would tilt towards Klaus Iohannis, because the party will listen to those who share the budget and functions, that is, the prime minister and the president of the Palace. Cotroceni.
It remains to be seen whether President Iohannis will intervene to block government negotiations. And especially if he asks Orban to resign as head of the Chamber of Deputies.
Solomónico, the UDMR could win the case. In order for neither PNL nor USR PLUS to have an advantage in this dispute, Kelemen Hunor could guarantee neutrality.
