BASESCU TO PARLIAMENTARY LEADERS: CREATE A NEW

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUCHAREST 000335

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/NCE AARON JENSEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV SOCI RO
SUBJECT: BASESCU TO PARLIAMENTARY LEADERS: CREATE A NEW
GOVERNING COALITION OR HOLD EARLY ELECTIONS


Classified By: Polcouns Theodore Tanoue for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) Summary: President Traian Basescu in a letter to
parliamentary leaders has suggested two options to resolve
the current political impasse: have the current (or
reshuffled) government submit to a vote of confidence or
create a new coalition based on a new parliamentary majority.
Basescu concludes that if no stable parliamentary majority
emerges, then the only remaining option is early elections.
Basescu also warns that any alternative to a "transparent"
political solution would be an attempt to rob the Romanian
people of their liberty to express their electoral
preferences. End Summary.


2. (SBU) President Train Basescu on 3/21 sent an open letter
to mainstream political parties with his views on how to end
the current political turmoil. The letter makes note of the
extended consultation session that he held with mainstream
party leaders (e.g., all the parliamentary parties with the
exception of the right-extremist PRM) the previous day, and
stresses that recent political developments underscore that
there is now a "volatile majority" in parliament which
changes from day to day depending on the issue. Basescu also
observes that the PD-PNL relationship has deteriorated to a
point where a solution originating from the current governing
coalition is now highly unlikely. Finally, the President
notes that the previous day's consultations disclosed that
all of the mainstream political parties share "a legitimate
wish" to overcome the current political deadlock, which has
led to instability and affected the governance of state
institutions.


3. (SBU) Basescu in his open letter proposes two options
going forward. The first would be to have the current (or
reshuffled) government submit itself "urgently" to a vote of
confidence in order to "delineate the borders" of a new
parliamentary majority. Basescu notes, however, that this
may not be possible since the Tariceanu government is now a
minority government, adding that contination of a minority
government would merely perpetuate the current ambiguous
relationship between the ruling parties and the opposition,
one of the root causes of the current disorder. Basescu adds
that a better solution would be the formation of a new
coalition willing to explicitly assume the responsibility for
forming a new government based on a program agreed to by its
constituent parties.


4. (SBU) Basescu concludes his open letter by remarking that
if no stable parliamentary majority emerges, then the only
remaining course is the holding of early elections, which he
describes as the "mandatory democratic solution for the whole
political class." Basescu concludes that anything less than a
"transparent" political solution will be construed as an
attempt to strip the Romanian people of their liberty to
express their electoral preferences.


5. (C) Comment: President Basescu is signaling that he is
ready to contemplate a new governing coalition that includes
the opposition Social Democrats and excludes his own
Democratic Party -- in effect burying once and for all the
Democratic Alliance coalition that came to power in 2004.
Although Basescu has repeatedly pushed for early elections to
strengthen his hand, in alliance with the Liberals, this is
perhaps the first instance in which he has publicly declared
that the PNL-PD alliance is no longer viable and able to
serve as the engine of government. At the same time, he laid
down a marker that he would oppose any "non-transparent"
political solutions, such as a minority Liberal government
propped up informally by the Social Democrats and other
opposition parties. Basescu and PD President Boc have
emphasized in recent days that the Prime Minister and his
Liberal entourage should not be able to have their cake and
eat it too; if they ally with the Social Democrats, they
should do so explicitly, and pay whatever political price
that entails. It is a populist card for the President to
play if and when he next faces the Romanian voters. End
Comment.

TAUBMAN