Deputy Prime Minister Dragoș Anastasiu of Romania has resigned, it was announced at a press conference on Sunday, July 27th. Addressing journalists at Victoria Palace, he made it clear that he would be leaving the government.
Prior to his departure, Anastasiu had been called as a witness in the so-called ‘DNA case,’ which concerns a company he owns paying one or more bribes to a now-convicted National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) inspector. The ex-deputy PM denies signing off on this decision.
Now he blames his resignation on the wider political context, stating
In this climate, it is very clear to me that I can no longer help, because no matter what I say and do, the process of denigration will continue, based on some facts, but taken to the extreme.
Anastasiu’s lengthy statement also claims that reform-minded Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan did not ask him to resign, although he respects the decision. It also implies some involvement of the Romanian ‘deep state’ in the process, making quitting into an act of self-protection.
The crisis comes with Anastasiu leaving the new government, which has now been in place for just over five weeks.
