The News Agency IPN withdraws the news article “Andrei Popov: PDM will bank on candidate that won’t be fielded by it” published on June 7, 2016. The editorial office took such a decision after communicating with Andrei Popov, who considers that the message he formulated in the talk show “Interpol” on TV7 channel was misunderstood. According to him, the error refers especially to his statements about the candidacy of the president of the Constitutional Court Alexandru Tanase, whom the Democratic Party could indirectly support in this autumn’s presidential elections. IPN regrets the error and offers Andrei Popov the right to reply.
Andrei Popov: “I, in the public sphere earlier spoke about a difficult hypothesis, concerning a surprise candidate that would actually be the real candidate of the Democratic Party, of Mister Plahotniuc, but would be masked so that the people do not realize this. A neutral candidate, exactly that possible surprise-candidate – a known, credible person not affiliated to the Democratic Party who will not be affected by the negative image of the Democratic Party. And then you, on the one hand, must support a party candidate, for example Mister Lupu, and in this case only Lupu goes as a sacrifice lamb to gain from the start only 5-6% of the poll and you give all support to this neutral candidate. You enter the race with your candidate, with the logo of the PDM only for distracting attention from the real candidate. I earlier also thought that this candidate could be Alexandru Tanase and I said it once in public. As I do not see how such a candidate can be built during the remaining period of time. I think it’s very hard to follow two paths. This game is too subtle, too difficult. You can formally field Lupu, but he is also a human. If he sees that the party does not support him, he closes the door behind him and leaves. The party cannot support another candidate than Lupu in the first round of voting. Also, if this neutral candidate is not supported, this will not grow as he should.
“If the people see that Lupu is not supported on purpose, they will foil this game. I earlier believed that only Alexandru Tanase, who is a powerful politician, polemist, erudite, who speaks three languages and who has abilities of politician, could play such a role. I respect Alexandru for his qualities. I do not agree with some of his actions andstatements, but I consider him a redoubtable polemist. But he categorically excluded the possibility of his participation in these elections. And it won’t be right for me not to believe him. I think he excluded this possibility. That’s why I said in the program, when I was asked by the moderator who this candidate could be: “It’s hard to create, to invent a person. This must have some parameters and potential from the start and I see no other such candidate than Alexandru Tanase. But Tanase repeatedly denied that he would run and I thus withdraw my words. I don’t think that this will be Tanase. I think the Democratic Party will ultimately have to concentrate on one own candidate so as to take this to the second round,” Andrei Popov stated for IPN.
IPN withdraws the news item published earlier and asks the entities that republished it with or without authorization to do the same, by publishing the given clarification.
