With presidential elections approaching in Romania, many names have been proposed for the future president.

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta was recently asked what he thinks of a possible scenario in which he would be the  country's President and the newly appointed head of the Senate Calin Popescu Tariceanu would be the Prime Minister.

“Why not the opposite? I would work very well with a President such as Mr. Isarescu, Mr. Oprescu or Mr. Tariceanu,” answered Ponta, reports local Mediafax.

He added that he is currently best placed in the polls, “but the polls are changing”.

Ponta also said that by electing Tariceanu as head of the Senate, he hopes all the targets set by the Social Liberal Union USL will be carried on.

“Moreover, I strongly believe that Mr. Tariceanu has the necessary political experience to be the second man in the state, and if there would ever be the case to replace Mr. Basescu, he will make it consciously and with all dignity,” said the Romanian Prime Minister, quoted by Mediafax.

“I don’t consider this, but under the Constitution, the head of the Senate is the legal substitute of the President. I am not referring to any particular case, I am speaking about a constitutional hypothesis,” he added.

Former Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu was recently elected head of the country’s Senate, replacing former party colleague Crin Antonescu, who resigned last week.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(photo source: gov.ro)