All the declarations the politicians in power gave the last days indicated that today would be the day when the Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu would resign and after him, implicitly, all the members of the Executive. Although, for the time being nothing is nailed up. The Premier has not written yet his resignation as he does not know exactly what to do. Yesterday afternoon, Tariceanu took for the last time as a prime-minister, the road of Brussels, for a few hours visit, during which he tried to convince the European officials that the authorities in Bucharest would observe the obligations they assumed within the negotiations for Romania's accession to the EU. The Premier met the vice-chairman of the European Commission, Guenther Verheugen, the European commissioner for Competition, Neelie Kroes,the European commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, Franco Frattini, and the European commissioner for Enlargement, Olli Rehn, as well. On the other side, sources within the governmental coalition declared yesterday, for Mediafax, that the Prime Minister's visit to Brussels also had another stake. Thus, it is possible that choosing the right time when Tariceanu and his Government would step down, the designation of a temporary Prime Minister and all the strategy of the current power for the next period are decided depending on the results of the yesterday visit in Brussels. According to sources quoted by Mediafax News Agency, the Prime Minister's resignation depends a lot on the signs he received from the representatives of the European Commission. Resignation, also conditioned by the EU According to his latest statements on the resignation topic, Tariceanu should have announced that he gave up the position of a prime minister at his arrival from Brussels, that is today. Still, the moment might be postponed if the European officials asked the Government in power a quick adoption of new measure necessary for Romania's EU integration. On the other hand, Tariceanu might have been suggested to postpone his resignation till after the solving of the crisis generated by the floods. The Premier, who said that Romania's domestic politics is established in Bucharest, not in Brussels, a priori rejected this version. The opportunity of the resignation was also discussed in the last meeting the Liberals had, where all versions related to the Premier's resignation have been taken into account. According to Mediafax News Agency, many liberals considered such a gesture as inopportune and counter-productive right now, when all the Government's energies should be directed to helping the people in distress. Even the Liberal vice-chairman Mona Musca stated publicly she asked Tariceanu to leave aside the resignation and to deal, first of all, with the floods. Other leaders of the National Liberal Party perseveringly asked Tariceanu to do something, as he cannot change his mind once again about the resignation. In the Sunday evening meeting of the Central Permanent Bureau of the National Liberal Party, Tariceanu listened to all the versions his colleagues proposed, but did not take a decision. He might take it today, after the meetings in Brussels used up. If the Premier considers they were favorable to him, then his resignation will only depend on the image impact such a measure will have, given the crisis of the people in distress. In case Tariceanu considers he won't loose too many points if he announces his resignation right now, then it is likely he does it today.

Carmen EPURAN