ION CRISTOIU - June 28 2004 The political parties making the Alliance - the Democrat Party (DP) and the National Liberal Party (NLP) - did away with their state of euphoria following the results in the local elections and are working on their lists for the general elections in November.
The Allianceâs candidate for the presidential race has long been chosen as Theodor Stolojan (TR. NOTE: of the NLP). Traian Basescu (TR. NOTE: head of the DP and re-elected mayor of Bucharest) is back at work. In a gesture showing political wit he countered rumors that Cozmin Gusa (TR. NOTE: one of DP leaders, formerly secretary general of the SDP) will be forced to step down, while he also scolded publicly his political protégée, Anca Boagiu (TR. NOTE: DP candidate who did not win the mayorâs seat for Bucharest District 2).
These were obvious displays of impartiality from the DP leader. Undoubtedly, neither DP, nor NLP have a monolithic unity around their top leadership. They are thriving as entities originating in the Balkans ⦠For the public opinion and for the electorate what counts is what one can see with ones own eyes. And so far, the message from NLP and DP is that their Alliance already works as a viable alternative to the current ruling party, the SDP.
Things are totally different for the Social Democrat Party (SDP). The mayhem within its ranks is hard to understand now, when the SDPâs unity before was even greater than the one of the Bolshevik Communist Party of the USSR ...
Nothing wrong with debating the measures to be taken in the time left before the general elections, and nothing wrong with debates turning into heating controversies. What is wrong, however, is turning such discussions into under-the-belt kicks for public display, thus bringing closer the idea that the party is reading itself for dismantling and not for elections
