In his first press conference as interim president of Romania, Mr. Ilie Bolojan was neither flawless nor astonishing, but he achieved something much more important for Romania’s current state and its relationship with the presidential institution. He achieved normalcy.
Mr. Bolojan showed the country what the normal exercise of the presidential function means.
From the fact that he felt the need to give an account two weeks after taking office at Cotroceni, what he did there, what he discussed, with whom and why, what decisions he made, what the directions are, what the objectives are. Seated, deliberate, with respect for the value of each word and the importance of tone, Mr. Bolojan was more presidential than Klaus Iohannis managed to be in 10 years of office.
The most important thing is that Mr. Bolojan seems to have understood the correct position of the president in the constitutional architecture, what exactly it means to be a mediator and a central reference point, as well as the expectations of the people.
"A more transparent, more accessible, closer to the people, in contact with all Romanians, at least from the perspective of respect for citizens, will be a much better situation," is what he aims for, and the decision to literally open the doors of the Cotroceni Palace has a very special symbolism from this point of view.
Of course, it can be debated whether certain accents could have been stronger, if some answers could have been clearer. We saw criticism even after the reaction to the episode of political recklessness by the Trump-Vance team against Ukraine. That it was too slow, too soft, ambiguous.
But these become pedantic at the limit of ridicule if we remember the fact that he spoke freely and answered all questions, with respect and patience, without any limitations, an interim president who until December was the president of the County Council, a position with no connection to presidential duties, and who took over the interim position at Cotroceni without any preparation period, without a decent handover process, effectively from one day to the next.
In these circumstances, the prudence of the positioning shows wisdom.
Compared to these circumstances, Mr. Bolojan's performance, I repeat, better than President Iohannis at any time in his 10 years, in the midst of a foreign policy crisis and an unprecedented internal context, is truly remarkable.
Mr. Bolojan was not only more presidential than Iohannis, but also more presidential material than all current candidates combined, even though he is not a candidate.
If Mr. Bolojan presents himself like this after two weeks from being thrown into the shark tank, without training and a lifebuoy, how would it be with training and experience?
Probably the best president Romania has had so far. Personally, I openly declare that I would vote for him with real confidence. But based on the current data, we will not have the opportunity to convince ourselves, as Mr. Bolojan is not a candidate.
Can he become a candidate in the two weeks left until the registration deadline in the race?
At the press conference, Mr. Bolojan was repeatedly asked, in three different formulations, if he will run for office. The word NO was not absent from his answers. Mr. Bolojan did not explicitly deny the hypothesis of candidacy. I would say that his answers circumstantiated it.
- "The coalition has a candidate, Mr. Crin Antonescu. I thought that when I close this interim mandate, I hope to leave things in a better state than I found them and to hand over this institution, maybe even our country, in a better state."
- "I have tried all these years to be a serious person. If I sign something, I respect an agreement."
What do we understand from these answers? It seems that Mr. Bolojan does not outright reject the candidacy hypothesis, but he is not willing to embark on this path at the cost of destroying what is already part of his political image: seriousness and respect for agreements.
And not only for himself, but because he wants to leave the institution and the country in a better state than when he took over the interim position. And a better state also means the first steps in rebuilding trust in institutions, dignitaries, and politicians who do not retract their word, do not break agreements.
No matter how good Mr. Bolojan would be as president, if the beginning of his journey is marked by incorrectness, violation, or a change of mind sheltered by the momentary relief of a part, perhaps a majority, of the electorate, his path will be compromised, just like his political brand.
Any sudden move by Mr. Bolojan, even if expected to run, even with real chances of winning and being a very good president, would directly lead to the breakup of the governing coalition, thus to instability, exactly what the interim president repeatedly emphasized he wants to avoid at all costs.
Which means that the only way for Mr. Bolojan to become a candidate after all would be if this is requested by his current partners, within a broader agreement, a construction embraced by all as a step forward, not as a flip-flop and certainly not as a rupture.
Concretely, I don't think the electoral alliance PSD PNL UDMR can simply change its candidate, meaning Antonescu stepping down and Bolojan taking his place, even if, by all appearances, the current candidate fails to gather support, especially in the PSD area, the strongest financially, because PNL was left by the Ciucă team on the brink of financial collapse. And Victor Ponta's entry into the race only complicates things.
How could this be possible in practice?
The coalition parties have committed not to have a common candidate among their presidents. But Mr. Bolojan is not a party president at the moment, being suspended from the party. So legally, he can only have the status of an independent candidate.
For Mr. Bolojan to become a candidate, he would need to be not only of the current coalition, therefore not just a replacement for Mr. Antonescu, which would bring back lamentable memories of the Cîrstoiu episode in Bucharest. He would need to become the common candidate of all pro-European parties. Including USR. I don't see why, in these conditions, Mr. Nicușor Dan would have any rational and decent reason not to withdraw in turn.
Loading Mr. Bolojan with a candidacy representing all pro-European forces would be the only legitimate way for him to become a candidate.
I wouldn't give high chances to such a construction, but I would note that Mr. Ciolacu made a surprising announcement: inviting USR to join the government, in exchange for supporting a common candidate. Sure, at first call, Crin Antonescu. But, depending on Elena Lasconi's response, whose very good relationship with Mr. Bolojan is no secret, theoretically a second call could follow.