The race for the General City Hall of the Capital is getting very tense before the elections on December 7. USR candidate Cătălin Drula made a controversial statement live, comparing his political opponents to “plague and AIDS“, a statement for which he later apologized.
Cătălin Drula, harsh comparison to Ciprian Ciucu and Daniel Băluță PHOTO: Collage Mediafax
During a show on Digi24, Cătălin Drula was asked why he did not withdraw from the race in favor of Ciprian Ciucu, to avoid the Capital City Hall being won by the PSD candidate, Daniel Băluță. His response immediately caused reactions.
“I can't choose between the horsetail and the hemlock or between the plague and AIDS”said Cătălin Drula.
The moderator cut him off, warning him that the statement went beyond the bounds of an acceptable comparison. Faced with criticism, the USR leader went back on the statement: “Ok, I'll take this back then. I withdraw this statement. I agree with you and I apologize. It was a metaphor for choosing between species of evil. It's an inappropriate metaphor, I admit that“, he specified.
What the polls show before the elections
According to a CURS survey, the candidates Daniel Băluță (PSD), Ciprian Ciucu (PNL) and Cătălin Drălă (USR) are in a close competition for the votes of Bucharest residents. The data looks like this:
- Daniel Baluta: 26%
- Ciprian Ciucu: 23%
- Cătălin Drula: 22%
- Anca Alexandrescu (independent, supported by AUR): 17%
- Ana Maria Ciceală (SENS): 7%
- George Valentin Burcea (POT): 4%
Another poll, published earlier this week, indicated a battle at the top between Daniel Băluță and Anca Alexandrescu, very close to each other.
However, these sociological researches did not include the withdrawal of the independent candidate Vlad Gheorghe, supported by DREPT, who announced his support for Ciprian Ciucu.
The elections of December 7
The vote for the General City Hall of the Municipality of Bucharest will take place on December 7, and the electoral campaign has been in full swing since November 22. Initially, 17 candidates were registered in the race, but so far two have withdrawn: Vlad Gheorghe and Eugen Teodorovici.
The slippage of Cătălin Drula adds new tension to a campaign already marked by strong rivalries and harsh exchanges of lines.
