PM Victor Ponta to run for president

Victor Ponta to run for president: “I have a national project for a powerful Romania”

Newsroom 30/07/2014 | 02:12

Romania’s left-wing Prime Minister Victor Ponta announced Tuesday he will run for president in November, in a speech to some 5,000 supporters, writes Mediafax.

“I am ready for five years, for 10 years to make a Romania that we have not seen for a long time,” Ponta told the crowd in the southern city of Craiova.

“I have a national project for a powerful Romania,” he added.

Ponta, 41, whose Social-Democrat Party (PSD) is by far the largest political force in Romania, is favourite to win the race. His main competitor will be the liberal candidate, representing PNL and PDL, two parties that merged last weekend. Klaus Iohannis has been selected to represent PNL and the final candidate will be announced on August 5.

“I’m in a special situation”, Ponta said in his speech. “It may be a weakness, but I believe it is an advantage. I am the first candidate for presidency that you know all about. I have absolutely no secrets. For that I have to thank Traian Basescu and his propaganda. They dug so deep in my life that you know every right and wrong thing I ever did and may do in the future 10 or twenty years”, according to Ponta.

A former prosecutor who speaks fluent English and French, became Romania’s youngest prime minister in May 2012 at the age of 39.

Shortly after his appointment, he came under fire from academics who accused him of having plagiarised large parts of his 2003 doctoral thesis. Although he denied the charges, calling them “political attacks”, several independent university panels have confirmed that he “copy-pasted” large swathes of text.