Victor Ponta says a minister in his government has tried to prevent him from resigning after the tragedy in the Collective

Victor Ponta, the independent candidate in the presidential elections, says he regretted the resignation from the government, but considered it necessary after the fire in the Collective club. Almost ten years after the tragedy, Ponta claims that the Deputy Prime Minister Gabriel Oprea has tried to convince him not to leave.

The former PSD leader claims that the decision to resign was made from the belief that the Romanian state failed in front of a tragedy and that it was not fair to look for a punctual culprit: “I could not blame Păun, a director, something,” Ponta told Primatv, according to News.ro.

He accused former President Klaus Iohannis of politically exploited the moment and of “misunderstand” the message of resignation.

“Iohannis understood:” Well, how good it was with the collective, people needed to die and that I escaped Ponta “totally wrong. From this point of view, I had to resign, but my expectations, and I suspect not just mine, I think that of the company as a whole, they were cheated on,”

Asked about the current relationship with Gabriel Oprea, Ponta says that this is “very good”, but excludes its return in a possible government formula, if he is elected president: “There is no problem and I do not think he wants it.”

About Liviu Dragnea, his former political partner, Ponta says they have not spoken, but leaves a possible return in politics.

“” In politics never to say, but I think he must overcome the desire for revenge and revenge.

Victor Ponta was prime minister between May 2012 and November 2015, when he resigned following the protests after the fire in the Collective club, in which 64 people died. Klaus Iohannis, the president in office at that time and political opponent of Ponta, said that “people had to die for this resignation to occur.” Subsequently, Iohannis designated Dacian Cioloș, who formed a technocratic government.

One year from the Collective, PSD, led by Liviu Dragnea and with Victor Ponta on the eligible place, won the parliamentary elections with the best score in history: over 40%.