The 35 euro-parliamentarians - on their way to Strasbourg
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Today was the first working day for the 35 euro-parliamentarians, intended to represent Romania in the European Parliament after the elections on 25th of November. The winner of these elections was the Democratic Party that sent to the European Parliament the biggest number of euro deputies, that is 13.
The second place is granted to the Social Democratic Party with 10 euro-deputies, followed by the Liberal Democratic Party with 3 people and 2 from the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania. Besides these parties, there is the independent euro deputy, Lazlo Tokes, also a representative of the Hungarian community in Romania.
The euro-parliamentarians from PD and UDMR will be part of the European family of the Populist Party, the PDS will go to the PES and the National Liberal Party to the ALDE group.
The difference between the voting results of the two first parties doesn’t seem to have been so significant, but it’s only due their political games.
PD got 28,81% of the votes, although polls were estimating 35% to 40%, while the PSD won 23,11% of the votes, in comparison to their prognosis of 19%-21%. Even so, the president of the party, Mircea Geoana declared himself dissatisfied with the result, saying that the PSD deserves the first place.
The truth is that PSD got the worst result ever and this is due, on one side, to the ruptures inside the party, to the stumbling voices inside (the differences between their members' opinions – if they have to sustain PNL or not, the negotiations to enter the government) and to the lack of authority that Mircea Geoana has. Additionally, their electoral campaign was weak, they used little financial resources, therefore the electorate could not be persuaded into giving its vote.
As for the PD, although winner in the elections, their percentage was quite unpredictably low. This was the consequence of Traian Basescu’s decision, (former president of the party and current head of state), who imposed the democrats to help PLD in the electoral campaign. Obeying the orders, the democrats have influenced their own electorate to vote the new created party, providing PLD the electoral spaces bought by themselves and sending their activists to take part in the manifestations organized by the PLD during the campaign.
According to the analysts, PD lost at least 4% of its votes because of these actions. Many leaders of the PD have declared themselves unpleased with Traian Basescu’s strategy.
The consiliation came this week with the fusion of the PD with the PLD into the Liberal Democratic Party (PDL).
The big losers, not able to go beyond the threshold were:the Greater Romanian Party (PRM), that didn’t get any seats in the European Parliament, with only 4,5% and the New Generation Party (PNG) of Gigi Becali (president of the football club Steaua) with 4.85%.
There was a low presence at the ballot for the European Parliament, only 29.46% of the population participated to vote. It’s a natural phenomenon, like the other countries experienced for the same elections.