Romania’s Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL) have decided to withdraw their joint candidate in the race for mayor of Bucharest, the two parties announced on Tuesday, two weeks before they are due to launch their campaign for local and European elections, both set for 9 June.

Last month, PSD and PNL decided to expand their coalition and participate in elections with joint lists and candidates, including the non-affiliated state hospital manager, Doctor Cătălin Cîrstoiu, who was removed as a joint candidate on Tuesday.

Rather than relying on a joint candidate, the two parties nominated their respective candidates – former mayor Gabriela Firea for the Social Democrats and current Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja for the Liberals – but kept the joint candidacies for the six district town halls of Bucharest.

While Firea—currently the third on the joint EU election list—is polling better, according to early-year surveys, her candidacy risks refocusing public attention on the nursing home scandal that led to her dismissal as family minister.

Asked if this development signalled the “first crack” in the governing coalition, PNL spokesman Ionuţ Stroe stressed confidence in the stability of the PNL-PSD political alliance and said he did not expect “the separation of candidacies for Bucharest to extend to the government and presidential elections.”

(Catalina Mihai | Euractiv.ro)

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