Leaders of the governing National Liberal Party-PNL and of the opposition Social Democrats-PSD made a series of statements over the past couple of days suggesting they would not exclude a collaboration between the two groups under certain circumstances.

In an interview for Jurnalul National newspaper, PNL president, PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu said that “in case the Democratic Party [PNL’s partner in the governing coalition] that “a government formula excluding the PSD cannot be considered”.

In other words, PNL is thinking that a partnership with the main opposition party could work if the Democrats led by Tariceanu’s political rival, President Traian Basescu, left the government.

And on Sunday PSD spokesman Cristian Diaconescu was heard praising - as it almost never happened before - a decision of Tariceanu’s to ask for the resignation of Foreign minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu following a scandal involving two Romanian workers retained in Iraq.

But the Liberal speaker of the House of Deputies, Bogdan Olteanu dismissed speculation of a possible partnership with the PSD during a TV show on Sunday evening as his party “does not share the same ideas with the PSD”.

The moves come as the PNL, the PSD and another political group, the Conservative Party have been intensifying their political fight against President Basescu and his Democrats. The PSD is preparing to launch procedures for the suspension of the head of state.

For his part, Basescu used another TV interview broadcast on Sunday to launch a fierce attack on lots leading politicians, including Conservative leader Dan Voiculescu, PSD leader Mircea Geoana and two top Liberals for harming the interests of the two Romanian citizens retained in Iraq in their own political purpose of harming the head of state.