Resigning PM-designate Citu says party chair should also be PM to be successful in elections

Resigning PM-designate Florin Citu said Thursday he decided to resign as prime minister-designate because he "strongly believes" that in order to be successful in the elections, the national chairman of the party must also be the prime minister, adding that the current context in which Romania finds itself was taken into consideration when deciding. "An important message to the Romanians: today, I made the decision to tender my resignation as prime minister-designate to the President of Romania. My gesture should be interpreted in the context in which Romania currently finds itself. I am a party man and I understand to be with the party and his chairman in difficult times. I strongly believe that in order to be successful in the upcoming elections, the chairman of the party must also be prime minister. President Klaus Iohannis's decision to appoint me as prime minister was an honour, but it was taken in the context in which early elections were a solution agreed upon by most parties. This variant does not exist today. I made this decision with responsibility, transparency and professionalism," Citu wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday. He added that he reflected a lot "lately", taking into account the recent developments in the situation Romania finds itself into. "It is a decision that I have reflected upon a lot lately, following the recent developments in the situation Romania finds itself into. I will stay at the Finance Ministry. We have much to do for the difficult period that follows," Citu wrote. The Presidential Administration announced on Thursday that Florin Citu resigned as prime minister-designate. AGERPRES (RO - author: Mirela Barbulescu, editor: Catalin Alexandru; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Rodica State)