All newspapers on Tuesday read about a new party born on the Romanian political stage after the fusion of the Democrats (PD) with the Liberal Democrats. In the same vein, Liberals (PNL) distrust the opposition Social Democrats (PSD), one paper believes, as rumors spread over the past several days of a possible alliance between the two groups just to be dismissed by the PSD. And one newspaper reads about the chaos created on the National Day with the lighting of the biggest Christmas tree in Europe in Bucharest, December 1.

Cotidianul reads that the Democrats (PD) and Liberal Democrats (PLD) will merge to create a new party, the Democrat Liberals (PDL), as party leaders announced in a joint press conference on Monday.

Today, the two parties will officially propose the project to their members and submit it to validation. According to insider sources, President Traian Basescu himself urged the fusion between the parties, known for their common support for the head of state, the paper claims.

The paper quotes Liberal vice-president Ludovic Orban saying that “The President ordered, the two executed”, suggesting that the newborn party is the President’s satellite.

Gandul reads that PLD had survived as an independent group so far only to take part at the European Parliament elections. The merger will be sealed once the January 2008 extraordinary congresses of the two parties meet.

Currently, Democrats leader Emil Boc will preside the new party assisted by two vice-presidents: one in the person of Stolojan, former leader of Liberal Democrats and another one assigned by the Democrats.

Romanian libera quotes several politicians that argue that the decision did not come as a surprise, since the Liberal Democrats and Democrats alike were competing for the favors of the President.

Thus, some argu