No matter how distant you look at the evolution of the current president of Romania, he had in Ludovic Orban a guardian angel who intervened decisively in key moments of his political career, offering support.
In February 2020, as the president of the PNL, Ludovic Orban announced that the liberals would not have their own candidate in the local elections, and would support Nicușor Dan, an independent candidate for the Mayor of Bucharest.
For those who remember, there was a strong current within the PNL that criticized Orban, saying that the liberals should have their own candidate, but through this clever gambit, Orban attracted USR to his side and created an anti-PSD coalition, which defeated Gabriela Firea, the favorite to win a second term.
On November 18, 2024, a week before the first round of the presidential elections, Ludovic Orban, a presidential candidate from the Forța Dreptei party, announced that he was withdrawing from the race and would support Elena Lasconi, the USR candidate in the presidential elections.
Orban had no chance of achieving a significant result, being rated by polls at around 3% in voting intention, but his decision created a first in Romanian politics - it blocked Marcel Ciolacu, the PSD candidate, from reaching the presidential final, finishing third, 2,740 votes behind Elena Lasconi.
This situation, along with the entry of Călin Georgescu, the Kremlin's candidate, in the second round, led to the annulment of the elections by the CCR and created an opportunity for Nicușor Dan to run for president.
In April 2025, Ludovic Orban announced that Forța Dreptei, the party he leads, would support Nicușor Dan in the presidential race, getting involved in the campaign alongside the mayor of the Capital.
After winning the elections, Ludovic Orban became the political advisor to Nicușor Dan, the new president of Romania, but in the fall of 2025, the liberal was abruptly fired by the head of state because he advised him to support Ciprian Ciucu in the campaign for the Mayor of Bucharest, who was better rated in polls than Cătălin Drulă, the USR candidate.
Nicușor Dan refused, but Ludovic Orban won again. Ciprian Ciucu defeated both Daniel Băluță of the PSD and Anca Alexandrescu of the AUR at the polls. Cătălin Drulă came in fourth place - a major political defeat for President Nicușor Dan.
In a conversation with Ludovic Orban, an expert on the personality and political activity of the President of Romania, regarding the current political crisis triggered by the departure of the PSD from the governing coalition, he said he did not understand the role of the president in political consultations with parties.
He believes he was "revoked by the president before he showed his true colors," Ludovic Orban said in an interview set to be published on Monday, April 27.
PSD should have been called last for consultations
"The president was, in a way, the godfather of this coalition. And he had the responsibility to sanction any deviation from the coalition protocol and the government program. Of course, in public communication, how could you not take a stand? How could you not take a public stance when a political party from the governing coalition triggers a political crisis?", Ludovic Orban rhetorically asked.
"We were talking about consultations. First of all, PSD should have been called last for consultations. It's the party that triggered the crisis and was called first. At some point, you'd think you were at a party…," former Prime Minister of Romania also stated.
"…I am deeply revolted by the entire conduct that President Nicușor Dan has had recently. And my clear opinion is that he played PSD's game. Because he cannot remain neutral. The people who voted for him did so with the belief that he would support democracy and an independent judiciary, to deliver justice and to reignite the fight against corruption," emphasized the former PNL leader.
"What kind of resurgence of the fight against corruption do you think will take place in Romania, considering that Nicușor Dan struggled for half a year to appoint his advisors, and the chief prosecutors proposed by Radu Marinescu (PSD), the Minister of Justice, were named by Olguța Vasilescu's lawyer in 24 hours?", Ludovic Orban asked rhetorically.
"Let's remember that the formation of this coalition was largely done at Cotroceni. The negotiations lasted a month, at the usual pace of the president, even though Romania needed governance as soon as possible. Much work was put into drafting the protocol and creating the government program. As president, you are somewhat responsible for adhering to these rules, agreed upon with you as a party. To everything PSD did, Nicușor had no reaction. Moreover, it seemed to me that he took positions that rather favored PSD. Which is unacceptable and profoundly wrong…," Ludovic Orban further stated.