In an interview with British newspaper the Guardian, Romania's Prime Minister said he would be willing to work with suspended president Traian Basescu again, but only if the president remains within his constitutional powers. Speaking to the Guardian during his recent trip to London, Ponta predicted that the worst of the political crisis was over and that Romania would soon return to 'normal.'

PM Victor Ponta also complained about the way the European Commission has rebuked his administration’s actions, saying that Brussels had “double standards.” According to Ponta, Basescu has used many emergency government ordinances without incurring the EC's disapproval.

Romania's PM also justified attempts to remove Basescu from power by saying the suspended president had been impossible to work with and had constantly tried to block government decisions. “[Basescu] could not accept he did not have majority in parliament and he constantly tried to delay the decisions of the government, attack the government. We got to this crisis because it was almost impossible to have a normal cohabitation,” said Victor Ponta, quoted by the Guardian.

Some of the PM's comments suggest that although he is willing to work with Basescu, he is not too hopeful of success. “But Mr Basescu is a very strong personality. He was a former sea captain and in his DNA he has no ability to cooperate with anyone,” Ponta told the Guardian.

The article, published yesterday (August 14 ) also quotes MEP and close ally of Basescu, the former justice minister Monica Macovei as saying that working with Victor Ponta is not a problem, rather that the PM is under pressure from interim president Crin Antonescu to stop Basescu returning to office. She also said the real goal of Basescu's opponents was to stop Romania's anti corruption prosecutors from carrying out their work.

Read the Guardian article.

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com

(photo source: presidency.ro)