Coalition deadlock on merger issue. "If no agreement is reached, elections will be held at the deadline"

Producer: PSD and PNL leaders have not yet agreed on the merger of elections, and negotiations will resume tomorrow in the governing coalition. If no agreement is reached now, the elections will be held at the deadline, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said. Catalin Purcaru tells us the reasons for this deadlock.

Reporter: The Liberals insist on holding the European Parliament elections together with the local government elections on 9 June. They argue for cost-cutting and higher turnout. The Social Democrats are calling for a clear timetable for the whole election year and also propose combining the legislative elections with the second round of the presidential elections. MEP Mihai Tudose, PSD vice-president, said that no decision had yet been taken on the merger of elections, with all scenarios being considered. In previous negotiations, mutual support of candidates was also brought up. The PSD wants support for its own candidate in the presidential elections, but the Liberals will not accept any other candidate than the PNL leader.

MEP Gheorghe Falca, PNL vice-president, said that, for the first time, this scenario had not been brought up and he believes that a consensus will be reached on the merger of the elections. However, the governing partners are pressed for time, as Tuesday would see the legal deadline for legislative changes to the organisation of elections. Another meeting of PNL and PSD leaders is scheduled for Sunday and a final decision could be made. The opposition says the talk of merging the elections only serves to distract Romanians from the real problems of governance.

Translated by: Radu Matei