The president of AUR, George Simion, asserts that he will continue to accept „as many turncoats as needed” to defeat PSD and PNL in the local elections, which will be combined with the European Parliament elections at the beginning of June.
George Simion announced that Tudor Ciuhodaru – currently a PSD MEP who has also been affiliated with PPDD and UNPR – will be the AUR candidate for the Mayor of Iași.
Additionally, singer Dan Bittman will be included in opinion polls for a potential candidacy for the Mayor of Sector 1.
"These are the rules of the game. In Romanian politics, party switching and these practices are common. I told them: 'Take one from me, I'll take two from you'.
In Iași, my calculation was clear. Mr. Ciuhodaru is not seen as a PSD or PPDD member, he is seen as a respected, voted doctor. We conducted a survey, we included several names from my team - 8-9%. Considering that there are no two rounds of voting, it would have been pointless to throw them into this battle.
The only one in Iași who can pose a problem for Mihai Chirica is Tudor Ciuhodaru. In Iași, in the last three rounds of elections, it was a theater play. Whether it was from PSD or PNL, Mihai Chirica won. Mihai Chirica is not a turncoat? Yes, he is.
On the other hand, the one who always lost was Mr. Bodea, then with PNL, now with USR. Mr. Bodea is not a turncoat? This is political life in almost every county.
Wherever I could find the profile I liked in mayors, so we no longer have all sorts of covrigari leading us, I chose them: entrepreneur in Tulcea, Vâlcea, Rădăuți, Bistrița, Vaslui. These are people who have not been involved in politics before, people who have had a turnover of over 1 million euros, who have had 200-500-1,000 employees, who have provided food for people, who have shown that they can in the private sector.
I don't find them everywhere, that's why I will continue to accept as many turncoats as needed to beat PSD and PNL. And I take responsibility for it. I don't want to be a failed party, like USR. And USR is full (of turncoats - editor's note). The only MEP USR has, Mr. Vlad Botoș, has wandered through about five parties. What are we talking about?", explained George Simion, on Prima TV.
In 2019, Tudor Ciuhodaru was elected as a MEP on the PSD lists, being imposed by Dan Voiculescu after a negotiation with Liviu Dragnea, the leader of the then Social Democrats. Ciuhodaru has changed several parties, including PSD, PPDD, and UNPR. In AUR, Ciuhodaru will reunite with Cristian Terheș, a MEP also elected on the PSD lists, who has since joined the formation led by George Simion.
George Simion was also asked if Dan Bittman, the lead singer of the Holograf band, will be the AUR candidate for the Mayor of Sector 1.
"It is one of the options we have included in an opinion poll. I will put forward candidates from all areas, if they go for this merger option, I will not shy away from anything, I don't see why I would, I have to maximize the national score, so I invite all candidates from anywhere to come to me," Simion concluded.