Crin Antonescu and Ilie Bolojan, at an event in January 2025. Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea
The liberal Hubert Thuma accused the PNL president, Ilie Bolojan, of “an attempt to “use” the party” and claims that the current prime minister had proposed to support Mircea Geoană or Elena Lasconi in the presidential elections of 2024, to the detriment of a variant within the formation.
Then, in the 2025 elections, “Crin Antonescu was betrayed”, said PNL leader Ilfov, on Sunday evening, on Antena 3, arguing that although he was the presidential candidate supported by the coalition at that time, PSD-PNL-UDMR, “in the public space the idea was maintained that Crin Antonescu would not run for the Presidency of Romania”.
Thuma accused Bolojan of not coming out to deny at the time that he would not run for the party, even though “all the time in the public space there was talk of the fact that “it's not Crin Antonescu. The candidate will be Ilie Bolojan”.
“The second thing: all the people who are now close to Ilie Bolojan within the party, I did not see any of them in the campaign to campaign for Crin Antonescu”, added Hubert Thuma.
The leader of CJ Ilfov said that the polls prior to the presidential elections in 2024 showed that Nicolae Ciucă could not win the electoral race, so it was proposed to Ilie Bolojan to run, but he refused and instead proposed two options from outside the party.
“He gave me the first shock just then, because it wasn't that he refused that bothered me or, let's say, was a shock to me; the fact that he came up with two alternatives, told us to think whether Mircea Geoană or Elena Lasconi would not be good candidates for the National Liberal Party to support. For me it was a shock”, added Hubert Thuma.
“An attempt to “use” the party”
Asked how he interprets that moment today, the liberal said: “Regarding Geoană, I can only tell you that it now seems hilarious to me to be the “pesedist” in the party, when I see that Mr. Bolojan, in 2024, came with the option of Geoană, former president of the Social Democratic Party.”
“Regarding Lasconi, things are a bit more serious from my point of view, because it is related to the attempt to “use” that I now see inside the National Liberal Party”, he continued.
Hubert Thuma also stated that he does not think it was a coincidence that Elena Lasconi proposed a tandem with Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan in the campaign if he won the presidential elections.
He accused Ilie Bolojan of “a certain attempt to “use” the party”.
“This is obvious. Look at the ministerial positions. Apart from a liberal minister, the other three ministers are not part of the National Liberal Party. Look at his office in Piața Victoriei, there are more people from USR and REPER who are in the prime minister's office than from PNL”, concluded Hubert Thuma.
