Presidential candidate Antonescu: For the sake of democracy, president Iohannis should have resigned

The presidential candidate of the PSD-PNL-UDMR coalition (Social Democratic Party, National Liberal Party, Democratic Union of Hungarians of Romania), Crin Antonescu, on Tuesday stated that president Klaus Iohannis should have terminated his mandate as soon as the new Parliament was configured, in the context in which "he doesn't at least communicate with the people.""For the sake of democracy, stability and a minimum trust that is needed between a majority of the people in a country and the government, yes, it would have been better if Mr. Iohannis would have left the Cotroceni Palace as soon as his normal term in office ended, on December 21, immediately after the new Parliament was configured and the Government sworn in," Antonescu told Antena 3 public television channel.He stated that, otherwise, the fact that the head of state continues at the Cotroceni Palace is legal."Mr. Iohannis still being at the Palace (...) is legal, since there is a decision of the Constitutional Court in this sense. What is questionable instead is his legitimacy and it would have been better that, as soon as the Parliament was in place and established its leadership, and immediately after the Government was sworn in, regardless of the fact that the PM it's the same, it would have been better if the office of president would have passed to an interim, who is, according to the Constitution, the president of the Senate. And this is not even the only problem, because the real problem is not that the president stayed, but the problem is that president Iohannis doesn't even communicate with the people, in the context in which such communication is needed more than ever," Antonescu said.He opined that Romania confronts with "all the elements of a political crisis with important reverberations in the society.""This is a crisis because the Romanian state, these days, and for a while now, after the annulment [of the elections - editor's note] looks like it has no leader," said Crin Antonescu.The former chair of PNL also aded that the Government is under "a huge pressure.""The Government is under a huge pressure not just because of the budgetary difficulties, and not just because of the public suspicion it is facing (...), but there is also this fact, which translates into an even higher pressure - and we will see if it can do it - there is this other dimension where the president should have played an essential role, namely in the foreign affairs area. Since we have already spoken earlier (...) about all these new events, which don't seem to fit in the framework we are used to, about the changes of discourse, at least for now, at the White House, the change of regime there. Because I believe that we can talk of a change of regime, although not about the change of the democratic regime, of course, but a very strong presidency and, under many aspects, a very new style of presidency, which comes with big challenges and big changes. And all these things need an answer, a reaction. There are things happening in Europe, there are effects that we can see, already. (....) And the fact that we do not have a leader right now is not for the good," said Antonescu.