All day long, from dawn until the dead of night, about 14 hours were lost by the leaders of the governing coalition in the longest meeting since this form of governance was invented, not to find the best economic solution, not to take the best anti-inflation or anti-deficit measure, for Schengen or the eurozone, but to come to the conclusion that, in fact, they do not have a common candidate for the Mayor of the Capital.
They wandered around the government offices and with Cătălin Cîrstoiu, kept him for several hours for reasons unknown, then let him out the back door, still without any other conclusion than the one known since Friday evening: his mandate is on the coalition’s table.
The big danger is for the whole charade to fall apart, with governance and stability included, a danger even greater than losing the elections in Bucharest, which is almost a done deal.
They spun madly for hours on end around fixed points:
- they needed a common candidate without whom the whole common structure, including governance, could fall apart,
- which party emblem is willing to provide the candidate who will lose,
- to favor Nicușor Dan with a common candidate from PSD or Cristian Popescu Piedone with a common candidate from PNL.
In the end, they decided to go with different candidates, but to remain attached to councils and sectors. Firea and Burduja allegedly will not attack each other. What a mess!
No matter how it ends, what remains after all this adventure is a mark of terrible political amateurishness, terrifying considering it belongs to people who hold the fate of this country in their hands.
They rushed into the local elections without thinking if they have candidates, at least for essential positions of high visibility. They did the same with the presidential elections and most likely after June 9 what we see now will be repeated on a national scale, because in broad strokes the problems remain.
Separate candidates do not allow common lists and common governance (see the 2008 model), a politically common candidate from one party is rejected by the other party's electorate. And there they will not meet with two morning candidates, like in Bucharest, but with a truly successful and highly experienced Mircea Geoană.
They decided to have a common candidate in Bucharest without being clear if they have one. They wasted whole days and pulled Mr. Cîrstoiu out of the hat without measuring him, without analyzing him, without thinking of a serious profiling and campaign machinery.
At the first scandal, which was predictable to appear, at least considering that any "fresh meat" put on the table instantly becomes prey, they let him handle it as best he could with his minimal political and communication experience.
Were they not planning to support him anyway? It's possible! PSD has long been yearning for Piedone. But I doubt they intended to reach this crisis that would show their emptiness. They went straight to the wall.
And not just in this final moment.
Neither of the two major parties has fielded viable candidates. In PSD, Ms. Firea monopolized the candidacy for Bucharest, with no chance of success given the very high level of rejection. But considering the tribal structure of the party, no one else could raise their head.
PNL did not have a candidate because they did not have one, just as they have nothing for nothing since Iohannis destroyed it by promoting only mediocrity.
Many were probably surprised how an old PDL member, one of the best mayors in Bucharest, Liviu Negoiță, ended up running alongside Piedone in sector 1, with very real chances of winning.
Why? He explained on Europa FM: because he was systematically blocked in PNL. Without criminal records, without incompatibilities, he was systematically rejected for any candidacy. It has come to a political caricature like Bode making fun of Liviu Negoiță.
And if Liviu Negoiță beats Tuță in sector 1, Bode's protege and others, which would be absolutely normal in a personal vote, who will be to blame if the political points go to Dan Voiculescu's party?
The current chaos of PSD and PNL is not an unfortunate accident, bad luck, but the effect of continuous degradation that has reached a lamentable state at the moment of electoral settlement.