Gandul
“I want to announce that starting today I declare myself an independent, unaffiliated senator,” Botnariu announced during Wednesday’ plenary meeting.
The senator was elected on PSD lists in Ilfov county at the parliamentary elections in December 2016.
His defection currently leaves PSD with 70 senators, with one of them – former Defense Minister Adrian Tutuianu – de facto excluded from the party.
While the ruling coalition still has a comfortable majority in the Senate, with PSD partners ALDE holding twelve seats, the party itself is in danger of losing absolute majority in its chamber on its own, which requires the control of 69 Senate seats.