The leaders of the PSD-PNL Coalition are in doubt as to who to choose as a joint candidate for the Capital City Hall, while the proposals from branches or smaller parties do not stop coming.
No less than three candidates threaten another mandate of Nicușor at the Capital City Hall / Collage
Three months and a week before the elections, the Coalition still does not know the name of the person who will try to send Nicușor Dan home, after four years of mandate, the situation being quite complicated, there being misunderstandings both at the level of the Coalition and at PSD level.
Gabriela Firea, until recently self-declared “candidacy candidate”, did not wait for PSD and PNL to come with a joint decision and announced that PSD Bucharest decided, “unanimously”, to support her candidacy for the Capital City Hall.
“I am determined to work again for the development of the city, for the people who have been abandoned for almost four years, for all the projects that have been thrown in a drawer just because they were worked on by the social democratic team,” Firea relayed, as if it was already validated by the party's central leadership. Moreover, he announced which people will be supported again – Robert Negoiță (Sector 3), Daniel Băluță (Sector 4) and Cristian Popescu Piedone (Sector 5), but also who would be tested in the polls in Sector 1 ( Florin Lixandru), Sector 2 (Rodica Nassar, Rareș Hopincă and Dan Cristian Popescu) and Sector 6 (Gabriel Mutu).
On the other hand, on Tuesday evening, the leaders of the Coalition decided to do more polls, where both independents and party people like Gabriela Firea and Sebastian Burduja will be tested. According to “Adevărul” information, there will be three polls, one commissioned by PNL, one commissioned by PSD, one jointly commissioned, where there will be the same names and the same questions. Also, a decision is that the future candidate has a membership card at the time of candidacy, not to be independent. Results and a decision would come in 10-14 days. Among the liberals, the first option remains Sebastian Burduja, who also holds the position of president of PNL Bucharest, being supported by his branch.
Problems arise for Pedestrians
Cristian Popescu Piedone didn't even announce his candidacy for the Capital City Hall, and the mayor from Sector 5 is facing the first problems, for administrative documents signed last year. The National Integrity Agency accuses Piedone of a conflict of interest because “in the exercise of his duties as mayor, he issued and signed the order appointing his son-in-law (according to the first degree) as a member of the Commission for the sale of commercial premises or provide services that fall under the scope of Law no. 550/2002, as a result of which he obtained a material benefit (revenue collected in 2021 and 2022) in the total amount of 109,520 RON”.
Piedone's reaction was that the ANI evaluation report is a political one, made to order to intimidate him. He accused that he was not even offered the right to defend himself, although in the ANI statement the institution claims that he was asked for his point of view “in the exercise of the right of defence”. Therefore, Piedone announced that he will sue ANI and contest the report. Moreover, he emphasized that he is not withdrawing and asked for PSD's support. “We asked the entire PSD to form an alliance to save Bucharest from Nicușor. I don't beg. (…) I hope that God will clear their minds. To say that Piedone is the common candidate”, stated Cristian Popescu Piedone, in an intervention on Antena 3, who wanted to specify that since the announcement of his candidacy he had no discussion with Marcel Ciolacu. The mayor from Sector 5 emphasized that he will not give up his candidacy “under any circumstances”and in Sector 5 he proposes his son, Vlad Popescu Piedone.
Nicušor started the campaign
While in the Coalition and from Piedone there is a fight for who will be the main counter-candidate of Nicușor Dan, the general mayor is increasingly active politically. Although in recent years he has been rather discreet in the public space, Nicușor Dan has started to have more and more frequent conferences and has also set his opponents, beyond those in politics: “real estate sharks”. “The only fight that took place in these three years was the fight between the current administration and the real estate sharks”said the mayor of the Capital, credited in polls with the first chance for another four years as head of the mayor's office.
Nicușor Dan borrowed from Alianța Dreapta Unită, which declaratively supports him, that he does not agree with the advancement of local offices, although in his case, merging can be an advantage: the fact that he has representatives in the polling stations, much more be careful, given that the score at the European Parliament is also at stake, which could create an earthquake at the USR level, if the result were below 18%, according to “Adevărul” information.
