Romania PM sacks Basescu allies

Romania:Romania's prime minister Calin Tariceanu raised the stakes in his feud with President Traian Basescu yesterday by sacking his allies from government and vowing to rule without the support of his Democratic Party.

The cabinet reshuffle marked an escalation of a row between the two men and their parties, which governed Romania together after beating the former communist Social Democrats (PSD) in general and presidential elections in 2004.

Relations between Mr Tariceanu, a slick former businessman, and Mr Basescu, a pugnacious former sea captain, have deteriorated since Romania joined the EU in January, amid disputes over major legal cases, ministerial appointments and whether to withdraw the country's troops from Iraq.

Mr Tariceanu, after announcing that he had sacked all eight ministers from the Democratic Party, said: "Somebody has to have courage and say: the time has come to say that our alliance has exhausted its capacity to be beneficial to Romanians . . . it has long been marred by bickering.

"In 2007, Romania needs a fresh breath to solve the political crisis . . . I fully trust the new formula will govern the country efficiently and coherently."

The prime minister said the new government would comprise members of his Liberal party and a smaller group that represents Romania's ethnic Hungarian minority.

Without the support of the Democrats in parliament, Mr Tariceanu's party is expected to look for backing on key issues to the PSD, which has advocated a cabinet reshuffle as a way to end the current political impasse.

However many Romanians, and the country's EU partners, are likely to be perturbed by any deal between the supposedly reformist Liberals and the PSD, which was ousted in 2004 after earning a reputation as a bastion of corruption.

Mr Basescu has lambasted Mr Tariceanu for eyeing a "marriage of convenience" with the PSD, while the prime minister's allies have accused the president of using the justice and political systems to strengthen his own power and settle personal scores.

Brussels has reserved the right to withhold crucial funds if Romania fails to effectively fight corruption. Senior EU officials will be particularly concerned by the likely departure of respected justice minister Monica Macovei, who is not a Democratic Party member but is seen as a Basescu ally.