PSD and PNL are considering several scenarios for the Capital City Hall, given that they no longer want Cǎtǎlin Cîrstoiu as a candidate as a result of the incompatibility scandal in which he is involved
Cătălin Cîrstoiu, one step away from being withdrawn as a candidate. Photo: Inquam
The leaders of the governing coalition met on Monday morning at the Government to discuss the situation in Bucharest, the discussions being ongoing for almost 12 hours. Cǎtǎlin Cîrstoiu, presented a few weeks ago as a candidate of the PSD-PNL Alliance for the City Hall of the Capital, is no longer in the good graces of the two parties, in the context of the integrity scandal in which he is involved.
Pressed for time
As a result, the two formations decided to withdraw their support for the manager of the University Hospital, political sources told “Adevǎrul”, but they ran into the problem of finding a replacement, especially since they have only one week to submit a candidacy.
Gabriela Firea would have had the best chances, but, according to “Adevărul” sources, she is not supported by the liberals, nor does she want to enter the race, given that she did not have PSD's support from the beginning to be the common candidate. A similar situation is in the PNL, where Sebastian Burduja would no longer wish to run, after initially not having the support of his liberal colleagues, although it would have been a preferred option by the PSD leadership. Among the options circulated was Rareș Bogdan, PNL first vice-president, but he would not want to enter the race either, not being convinced that he would have a chance to win.
Piedone vs Nicusor Dan
The refusal is all the more vehement as the polls show the poor chances that the Coalition candidate would have for the mayor's seat of the Capital, the fight is now going on between Cristian Popescu Piedone and Nicușor Dan.
“The fight has already polarized between the first two ranked, Cristian Popescu Piedone and me, and we each have 40-45%. And then, it's very difficult for anyone to enter the last hundred meters in this campaign, they leave with a very, very big handicap. That is the legitimate reluctance of any of the two parties to enter this competition, at this moment”, said Nicusor Dan, to Digi24.
A similar opinion was conveyed by Piedone, who stated that he is no longer willing to make alliances, but accepts the support of the major parties, referring to the option in which the PSD would support him. In this scenario, even though the alliance would remain valid, it would not be excluded that the liberals unofficially support Nicuşor Dan. However, the two parties should formally have a candidate, the common option being the only certainty publicly expressed by the PSD and PNL leaders, in order not to ruin the chances of those who can win the mayoralties of sectors 1 and 2, respectively George Tuțǎ and Rareş Hopincǎ.
“Putting an egg under a shell, they change it today, the chick doesn't have time to come out either and the shell also diedPiedone said.
“I could have done more”
After Marcel Ciolacu asked him several times to come out publicly to explain the accusations of incompatibility, Cǎtǎlin Cîrstoiu held a press conference in which he specified that he did not violate the law and that his mandate is on the table of the Coalition.
“Pfor someone entering such a competition for the first time, things are completely new. Probably the dynamic that Mr. Cîrstoiu would have felt necessary was different from the one in the field. Maybe we could do more, we certainly do more, things were picking up speed“, admitted the spokesperson of the PSD, Lucian Romaşcanu.
Cîrstoiu's incompatibility
Cătălin Cîrstoiu was the subject of several HotNews journalistic investigations, which revealed possible incompatibility issues.
In the latest investigation by HotNews.ro journalists, it is shown that, in the period 2022-2023, the director of the University Hospital in Capital would have given several consultations for a fee at the Anemona clinic, owned by his family, after the patients were directed there by WhatsApp messages sent by residents. The doctor said he had done nothing to give him the perspective that he was in an incompatible state and that “only the ANI can issue a report to that effect.”
