Regardless of how we look at it, the legislative change that will allow Mr. Iohannis to run independently on the PNL list is an absurdity. One that serves the megalomania of a single man, sick with power, understood exclusively as a means of satisfying personal interests and desires.
The constitutional absurdity
Constitutionally and legally, it is unacceptable for at least two reasons.
On the one hand, the law proposed by the liberals refers to a single person. It is even worse than what Dragnea attempted with Emergency Ordinance 13 or Ponta with giving up his Ph.D. If we were in their shoes, if the amendment had the decency to also refer to other categories that could be admitted as independents on party lists.
But the text refers to a single independent. It's true, not by name, but as if, as long as a president can be in a position to run for office at the end of a term once every 20 years, when the presidential and parliamentary elections coincide. As evidence, there has been no concern on this subject since 2004.
Discrimination against the president at the end of his term is invoked, which would have prevented him from running. He is only prevented from joining a party or associating with it by being included on the electoral list, which is absolutely in line with his obligation of political independence. Therefore, Mr. Iohannis can run independently for a seat in Parliament.
Furthermore, the amendment comes after the electoral process has started, and some deadlines, such as for alliance registration, have already passed.
All in all, the Constitutional Court of Romania would have reasons to reject the amendment outright, as they say. But I am convinced they will not. A political court will not harm the stability pact.
The political absurdity. The Invertebrates
Politically speaking, the absurdity is also manifold.
The limitation of a president's term has a very clear logic. Already, extending the term to 5 years has proven to be ill-advised. The fact that Mr. Iohannis is aiming for a de facto third term, as correctly identified by Crin Antonescu, is a violation of democracy.
Perhaps if Mr. Iohannis had important ongoing projects and wanted to ensure they would not be abandoned, it could have been considered a mitigating circumstance. But if that were the case, Mr. Iohannis would have had this intention from the beginning, not begged for foreign positions.
The candidacy is just the last chance for someone considered unqualified for high foreign dignities to retain power for the same purpose for which it was exercised for 10 years: personal interest.
If he had chosen to resign to join the PNL list, there could have been a logic: the interim promotion of Nicolae Ciucă to Cotroceni, as an image advantage for the presidential elections. In other words, let's say, a sacrifice of Mr. Iohannis for the party. But Mr. Iohannis only conceives the sacrifice of others for his reign.
For the PNL, it is not so much the candidacy itself, but the amendment that makes it possible that represents an electoral disaster. The candidacy itself would have an electoral cost, as President Iohannis ends his mandates completely collapsed in trust and sympathy. But if it was a help for the presidential candidate, a benefit-cost ratio could have been calculated. As it stands, it will only be a loss.
Moreover, it is about what the liberals project: the image of political invertebrates, as correctly stated by Crin Antonescu.
Without any discussion, without any consultation, they received the move in an envelope, found out about the project from the television, and lined up to support it with ridiculous arguments. To hear honorable jurists like Cristina Trailă utter legal absurdities without blinking is more than derisory.
Valeriu Stoica's words at the National Convention a few days ago - "the Iohannis phase is over" - now seem not just an encouragement, but a warning signal from the party's only authentic strategist who felt the danger coming. It seems he had no one to pull him for.
Just like the joint list and the merger on June 9, this amendment will also cost PSD, no matter how adeptly the communication tries to sell the deal. If they vote for it, no justification can air out the stench of a miserable collusion, and few things annoy the electorate more.