Ex-President's Damning Interview Causes Storm in Romania

Former Romanian president Ion Iliescu's interview with French newspaper Le Figaro has sparked controversy in Bucharest, after he criticized the ruling party, which he once led, and then tried to retract the statements - prompting the newspaper to release the recording to the media.

Le Figaro initially published excerpts of the interview in a longer story on Monday, where Iliescu debunked some of the Social Democratic Party's favourite narratives and accused the current party leader, Liviu Dragnea, of causing fractures in the party.

The former Social Democratic, PSD, leader said the party currently has no candidate for the presidential elections next year and that the best choice would be for them to support Calin Popescu Tariceanu, leader of their junior ally, the Alliance of the Liberals and Democrats, ALDE.

"We do not have a personality in the PSD to get the support of the people. Not enough, unfortunately," Iliescu said.

Iliescu also said the party was going through a serious crisis due to Dragnea's corruption sentences.

However, following his criticism of the current leadership of the ruling party, Iliescu wrote on his blog on Tuesday that he had never made the statements.

The journalists who interviewed him on November 7 then released the recording of the interview, which was broadcast on Tuesday night on Realitatea TV news channel. 

Iliescu had dismissed one of the main narratives of the Social Democrats who have blamed a "deep state" - a pact between the intelligence services and the justice system - for the corruption accusations made against senior politicians in the party, including the leader, Dragnea.

"It [the 'deep state'] does not exist," the former president said.

"This is...