Former Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta announced on Wednesday that he will hand in his resignation from the ruling Social Democrat Party, PSD, to its chief, Liviu Dragnea, but will let him decide when to enforce it.
Ponta said he has decided to resign as he feels that his views bother the party’s leadership, however Dragnea said he will not accept the resignation.
“If I bother anybody, and I’ve seen that I do bother people, I’ll send Mr. Dragnea – you know I don’t want to be kicked out of the party – I’ll send him my resignation without a date and when I upset him too much, he signs it and he’ll be rid of me. But I won’t shut up, I can’t shut up at my age after the things I’ve seen, the things I know and the things I believe are worrying,” he told media.
Ponta also stated that he does not have a good relationship with Dragnea, who he has criticised several times in recent weeks after the government decided to pass a decree that relaxed anti-graft legislation, triggering mass protests across the country.
Last week, Ponta published a long post on his Facebook page saying he doesn’t agree with the way Dragnea runs the PSD.
Ponta, a prosecutor, has been a PSD member since 2002 and held several government positions as minister and prime minister. He resigned from his position as head of PSD in July 2015 after he was indicted for money laundering.