Just three days after the resignation announced by Iulian Dumitrescu from one of the most important positions in the PNL, several variants of politicians who could take his place are circulating within the party.
Dumitrescu is accused of bribery and false statements PHOTO Inquam Photos
The position of first vice-president, left vacant by the resignation of Iulian Dumitrescu, accused by the DNA of acts of corruption, could be filled even from the next National Council, from February 18, if there is a consensus at the level of the limited management that the team must be completed quickly, according to the “Truth” information. A first name circulated is that of the Minister of Development, Adrian Veștea. The current minister has a long administrative experience, being between 2016 and 2023 president of the Brașov County Council, and previously, between 2004 and 2016, mayor of Râșnov (Brașov). The liberal also has a fairly good relationship with the mayors, being the head of the ministry who interacts with them on programs like PNDL or “Anghel Saligny”. At the 2021 Congress, he ran for a position of first vice-president from the Orban team, but was not elected.
The second person seen as a potential first vice-president is Hubert Thuma, head of CJ Ilfov and current vice-president for Bucharest and Ilfov. For a while, Thuma was also interim president of Bucharest. With a more discreet nature, the current head of the CJ Ilfov is considered, claim political sources for “Adevărul”, only good to contact the organizations that were close to Dumitrescu, given that in the past there was a period when the two collaborated well in party.
A third variant is the one in which a woman is chosen for the position, given that there are only men in the limited team. And in the circle of Power, and who are also knowledgeable about the party, there are two people: Alina Gorghiu (Minister of Justice and former head of the PNL) and Raluca Turcan (Minister of Culture, former interim president of the PNL, but also first vice-president for a four-year term, in the period 2017-2021).
Good political resume, but disinterested in center games
Eyes are also directed towards the west of the country. A variant would be Ilie Bolojan, but in recent years he has not shown any desire for a central position, especially since his relationship with President Klaus Iohannis is still cold. At the PNL Congress in September 2021, which split the party, Ilie Bolojan was among the leaders who left the vote free for those in his branch, without indicating a direction. Bolojan was also first vice-president, between July 2017 and September 2018, a position from which he resigned, on the grounds that he wants to focus on the activity in the territory. At the time, Bolojan was part of Orban's team, and the former PNL leader's opponent was Cristian Bușoi, a politician with a better relationship with the head of state than Orban had.
In fact, after Bolojan's resignation, the position of first vice-president was vacant for almost a year, until Rareș Bogdan was elected to the same position.
Dumitrescu, under judicial control for transactions of hundreds of thousands of euros
As a result of being placed under judicial control, being accused of committing bribery and false statements, Iulian Dumitrescu was also banned from exercising his position as president of the Prahova County Council (CJ) for a period of 60 days .
Considered a discreet politician, Dumitrescu would have spent almost 600,000 euros in just one and a half years on luxury products and vacations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, the Maldives Islands, Capri, Mykonos and Nice, a fact that attracted the attention of prosecutors. The DNA investigation showed inconsistencies between the income obtained by the liberal and his expenses, thus discovering sums of money undeclared by the politician.
In the same file, the politician's sister and brother-in-law are also being investigated, being involved in a commercial company that had contracts with the Prahova County Council, led by Iulian Dumitrescu, and whose shares were sold at an overvalued price and following the preparation of false documents, according to DNA.
