PNL: Ponta must resign immediately; accusations against him, incompatible with premiership

Co-chairs of the Opposition National Liberal Party (PNL) Alina Gorghiu and Vasile Blaga have argued that Prime Minister Victor Ponta stepping down is mandatory, urging Ponta to do so in order to avert a political crisis.

'Victor Ponta must resign immediately, because the accusations levelled at him are incompatible with holding the office of the prime minister. The situation in which Ponta finds himself now makes office resignation mandatory. Such action cannot wait. Any delay is able to put Romania in an ingrate position vis-a-vis its international partners. This is not political theme we are talking about, as Victor Ponta tries to picture it, but highly severe accusations which, pending their clarification, seriously affect the Government's domestic and external credibility making the continuation of governance under efficient and good representation conditions highly difficult,' Gorghiu and Blaga said in a joint news statement released on Friday.

The two national leaders of PNL are urging Ponta to step down as prime minister and calling on Ponta's Social Democratic Party (PSD) to advise Ponta accordingly.

'We are urging Victor Ponta to place Romania's interests and picture above his wish to stay in power, to respect the function and organisations of the Romanian state and consequently to step down to avoid [Romania] getting into a political crisis. There is no haggling over public offices. We are also calling on the Social Democrats with a modicum of lucidity to advise Ponta to resign his governmental office. If the incumbent prime minister clings to his office and PSD leaders continue to ignore the accusations of the judiciary against Ponta, then Ponta and PSD will have to take responsibility for the political crisis,' says Gorghiu and...