“Vasile Danku’s resignation as head of the Ministry of Defense was initialed two weeks ago when President Klaus Iohannis asked for his resignation, concerned about the minister’s blunders,” political sources told HotNews.ro. In this context, the president of the PSD, Marcel Čolaku, mimics surprise and tries to negotiate with the PNL regarding the change of portfolios. What exactly does PSD want?

Vasyl Dink’s statements about negotiations with Russia were only a pretext for Vasyl Dink’s resignation. Political sources explained to HotNews.ro that “President Klaus Iohannis would be displeased with Dink’s activities as a minister, mistakes in the foreign sphere and the signing of commitments that would put the Romanian state in a delicate position.”

A brief chronology

On October 13, Hotnews.ro reported that Prime Minister Nikolaj Chuke intends to demand the resignation of Defense Minister Vasile Dink. The information was confirmed by PNL and PSD sources at the time and it was only a matter of time before it happened. According to the quoted sources, even President Klaus Iohannis expressed his dissatisfaction with the activities of the Minister of Defense and asked the Prime Minister to take measures.

PSD would not be against reshuffles of Vasile Dinka, according to Social Democratic sources, “the attribute of dismissing a minister is the responsibility of the prime minister.” In addition, Dinku was not on very good terms with the president of the PSD, Marcel Cholaku.

Between October 12 and 14, Vasile Dinku attended the NATO meeting in Brussels and was expected in the country to provide explanations. According to HotNews.ro sources, Vasile Dinku should speak to Marcel Čolaku on the phone and ask them if he has lost the support of the party and is being offered a change. Cholaku would assure him that he had no problem with his activities as a minister.

Dinku continued his visit to Brussels, and on October 16 he published a post on his personal Facebook page, where he wrote that he stayed where “the voice of idiots cannot be heard.”

The post is replete with harsh statements such as “the babble of fools”, “the honeyed whisper of scoundrels”, “solemn laziness, weak-mindedness or aggressive illiteracy”, “morons and mediocrity”.

The post caused further irritation in the country, and Prime Minister Nicolae Chuke would ask him to come to the government on Monday, October 17, to hold a discussion on the matter.

• After waiting for an explanation in Bucharest, Dinku says that he stopped where “the voice of idiots cannot be heard.” “Here you can get the energy to ignore solemn laziness”

After the meeting between Nicolae Chuke and Vasile Dinku, the government officially announced that topics such as the meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels and the calibration of public communication in the Ministry of Defense in the government context were discussed.

However, unofficially, Dink was told unequivocally that his resignation is expected in the near future.

It should be noted that on October 17-18, Vasile Dink is scheduled to pay an official visit to Georgia, where he was supposed to sign the Bilateral Cooperation Plan for 2022 between the Ministry of Defense of Romania and the Ministry of Defense of Georgia, which aims to carry out jointly agreed bilateral activities in the field of defense.

On October 24, Defense Minister Vasile Dinku announced his resignation, citing his inability to cooperate with President Klaus Iohannis.

How does PSD play and what is the strategy behind Dinka’s resignation

On the official level, PSD President Marcel Čolaku was surprised by Vasile Dink’s gesture: “I thought the moment had passed and the explanations for this statement had been submitted.”

In addition to the official statement, Cholaku clarified that he asked Prime Minister Nicolae Chuke to take over the interim leadership of the Ministry of Defense “in the context of the experience he has in the field of defense.”

In addition, Marcel Čolaku made it clear that the Social Democrats are even ready to hand over the defense portfolio to the PNL. When asked by journalists whether it is possible for the PNL to take over the defense portfolio, Çolaku replied: “Anything is possible in politics.”

However, the unofficially vacant portfolio left at Defense is a hot potato for Marcel Čolaku. Social Democratic sources told HotNews.ro that there is tension within the party over the appointment of a new minister. Member of the European Parliament and leader of PSD Breila Mihai Tudose insists on his appointment in the government.

“Tudose wants to be appointed minister at any cost, but the big bet for him is the appointment to the Ministry of Energy. Cholaku wants to leave the decision on receiving another portfolio in the government to PSD leaders. This is a ruse because it would allow Tudos to claim the portfolio from Energie,” the quoted sources explained.

The Social Democrats are meeting on Monday afternoon at a meeting of the National Politburo to decide whether they will nominate a candidate for the vacant defense portfolio.