OPINIONS The government anxiously awaiting the results of the elections in the PDL

The elections for the leadership of the PDL (Liberal Democrat Party), which will take place at the end of this week, can"t do anything to change the structure of the government of Victoriei Square. The three politicians fighting for the presidency of the party, aside from the factors that set them apart, are aware of the fact that the outcome of the elections of 2012 largely depends on whether PDL remains in power. The factions are clearly visible: one is grouped around Emil Boc, supported by the young faction of the party, as well as by the president of the country, the second backs Vasile Blaga, who has the support of the "seniors", and a third, smaller faction, which doesn"t seem to have any odds of winning and rather seems to exist only for diversity"s sake, is that of Theodor Paleologu. Remaining in power for another year is a matter of survival for the PDL. Without having access to the tools of the government, with the austerity measures in full effect, with a popularity that is waning, the party is at risk of sharing the fate of the Peasants" Party (PNŢ-CD) in the year 2000.

The two potential outcomes of the Congress which will be held this weekend seem completely opposite, when considering the statements made over the course of last month, but the major changes can only be made at the top of the party. The first possibility: Emil Boc gets reelected, things are very simple, he gets to keep his PM position and complete his term with the backing of the Presidency. The second: Vasile Blaga succeeds in becoming the president of the PDL. Even though he was attacked several times by president Băsescu, it is unlikely that Blaga would make an alliance with the party"s political opposition, because this would split PDL down the middle. Replacing the government and bringing in new faces, could provide a temporary popularity boost, but it is considered a move that poses far too many risks in the long run. Therefore, keeping Emil Boc as PM, regardless of what happens at the party"s internal elections, is considered as the only option by most party members, and more importantly, by president Băsescu himself.

The statements made by president Traian Băsescu, since the last meeting with the MPs of the PDL, which were broadcasted on TV, could be a major influence on the outcome of Saturday"s elections in the PDL: "This is the major issue. How do we relaunch the government? How do we boost confidence in the coalition and in the party, the main governing party?! You need to keep going. I am not your headmaster! I am just your friend. The talks between you need to continue. I am afraid that there are some thing that you need to consider as a whole. You need two solutions, not one. The solution of the PDL is made up of two parts: the government and the party itself! Folks, if your actions don"t succeed in getting your message across to people outside the party, the elections will be for nothing. You won"t achieve your first objective - to remain in power until 2012 -, nor the second - to win the elections of 2012. So you need to be constantly focused on the environment outside your party or of the political structure that you are in. It is not possible to make politics and to act like your government is only there for you, for your members, regardless of what they are like. If you do not become strongly aware of the fact that your government does what it does for the world outside your party, everything you do will be almost completely pointless. It"s kind of like, a Golgotha, which everyone climbed, and like the deputy said earlier:< OK, but now that we reached the top, we will go down because of our weight. So we are not carrying the bag of rocks anymore. Why should we now give up our success to someone else? > I don"t think that this is the logical approach, because, while we may now be relieved of our burden, there are those we"ve dragged with us... We"ve had 20 million people follow us up the Golgotha, right? We taxed their retirement money, we cut their bonuses, people don"t really get it and instead what they are doing is to say: Why won"t the Government give me my money? They do not understand that it was impossible to borrow more than we already did to give them money. And this created the picture of a government, which makes people say things like: < < It did this to me! It did that to me! > > when they think of it. The problem is as follows: we have the time that we need, if the status quo remains in place, to improve the way we are perceived and get them to say: Well, what they did to us was because they had to! Or, we may succeed in staying in power anyway and the truth is that the measures that need to be taken now are not as harsh, they will still need to be taken".

In the beginning of this week, the supporters of Emil Boc gained their first strategic victory. The proposal of the Blaga camp, which insisted that the vote be carried out alphabetically by the Congress, rather than by counties like it was now, was rejected.

The following candidates are running for the position of first vice-president of the PDL (four seats): Sorin Frunzăverde, Roberta Anastase, Gheorghe Flutur, Theodor Baconschi and Cosntantin Ostaficiuc. Whereas Sulfina Barbu, Cezar Preda and Ioan Oltean are competing for the position of secretary general.