Romania's ruling party strongman begins jail sentence

World
Europe

Romania's ruling party strongman Liviu Dragnea began a three-and-a-half-year jail sentence on Monday for corruption as his party grappled with a crushing defeat in the European elections.

A court earlier Monday upheld Dragnea's original sentence, a verdict that will almost certainly remove from public life a man who was widely seen as the puppet master behind the Social Democrats (PSD) and the government they lead.

He was convicted last year of using his influence to procure fake public jobs for two women who were actually working for the PSD at the time.

Dragnea, 56, was also a key figure in his party's push for controversial judicial reforms which have led to clashes with Brussels and have overshadowed Romania's first-ever EU presidency.

Despite the PSD's election victory in 2016, Dragnea's deep-seated ambition to become prime minister was thwarted because of a previous suspended jail sentence for electoral fraud.

Still the leader wielded considerable influence behind the scenes and toppled two prime ministers in just seven months before nominating Viorica Dancila to the post in January 2018.

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila attends a vote of confidence at the Parliament in Bucharest, Romania January 29, 2018. /Reuters Photo

Dancila admitted that Monday's verdict against Dragnea was "a difficult moment" for the party.

She said that PSD leaders would meet on Tuesday to decide the timetable for electing Dragnea's successor, with Dancila herself taking over the post in the meantime.

She ruled out resigning after the PSD's disastrous showing in Sunday's European Parliament elections, where it slumped 12 points from its score in 2014 to 25.8 percent.

Center-right and liberal opponents racked up almost 50 percent of the EU vote between them.

(Cover: Social Democratic Party leader Liviu Dragnea reacts during an interview with Reuters, in Bucharest, Romania, May 23, 2018. /Reuters Photo)

Source(s): AFP