NEWS OF THE DAY - JULY 17

The Standing Council of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) on Thursday decided that the Union Chairman Kelemen Hunor run for Romania's President office in the elections of November. In the same meeting, the UDMR leadership decided that Rozalia Biro, chair of the Council of Union Representatives, be proposed for the Vice Prime Minister and Culture Minister offices, instead of Kelemen Hunor.

* The common candidate for President of the PNL (the National Liberal Party) — PDL (the Democratic Liberal Party) electoral alliance will be made public around Aug. 4-5, PDL chairman Vasile Blaga announced. He also said that in the presidential elections, the two parties will run as an electoral alliance whose name will be made public at the beginning of next week.

* Chairman of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) who was designated this Thursday by the Union's Standing Council as the formation's candidate for the Presidency of Romania, is determined to prove that ethnic Hungarians are capable to field a strong candidate with a vision of Romania's future. After the decision of the Standing Council, Kelemen Hunor said that his presidential campaign will build on UDMR's program. He added that he doesn't harbor illusions that he will win the presidential race, adding, with reference to a recently published opinion poll, that Romania is not yet ready for a President who is not Orthodox and from an ethnicity other than Romanian. Kelemen Hunor also avoided to pronounce on the chances of the Presidency hopefuls, stressing that he will express UDMR's option in favor of a particular candidate in the second round when things get that far.

* Raiffeisen Bank CEO Steven van Groningen, a member on the leading board of the...