Romanian PM Denies Proposing Interim Interior Min

„We are expecting the Social Democratic Party’s nomination for the vacant interior minister position,” Boc said, adding there will be no interim minister for 24 hours, which is the term he gave coalition partners to name a replacement for sacked Interior Minister Dan Nica.

Geoana said earlier Monday that Boc proposed in the ruling coalition’s meeting Monday that democrat liberal Development Minister Vasile Blaga should be appointed interim interior minister.

The prime minister added he will look to the government’s existing human resources for a replacement if the social democrats fail to appoint anyone.

Boc explained his decision to sack the minister pointing to the poor state of public safety and rebuked the minister for his recent statements regarding fraud at the upcoming presidential elections.

Nica, who is also the country’s deputy prime minister, said Friday that he has information according to which no bus can be rented between November 22 and December 6, adding that Romanians are either going to monasteries or someone has decided to organize „electoral tourism”.

Investigations proved, however, that the statements of the minister have nothing to do with reality, Boc said.

Nica, who was appointed on February 5, 2009 and has occupied the deputy prime minster and interior minister seats, is the third social democrat to have led the Interior Ministry in this Cabinet.

Social democrat Gabriel Oprea was appointed interior minister on December 18, 2008, but was ousted from the party and from the government after just one month, because he appointed heads of intelligence departments in the ministry without consulting party leaders.

Oprea was replaced by Liviu Dragnea, who was appointed on January 20, 2009 and resigned after just ten days citing insufficient funds assigned to the ministry in this year’s state budget.