Romanian President Traian Basescu has responded to allegations of involvement in a deal supporting far-right leader Corneliu Vadim Tudor for the seat of Senate deputy speaker by saying that he was "not dealing with scrap related to seats in the Parliament... I am dealing with big issues in Romania".
He re-affirmed his previous statement that he was not involved in behind the scenes deals that eventually saw the pro-presidential Liberal-Democratic Party (PD-L) supporting Corneliu Vadim Tudor, head of the far-right Greater Romania Party (PRM), for the seat of deputy speaker of the Senate earlier this week.
Basescu made the statement prior to departing on a three-day visit to Italy where he is due to meet Pope Benedict XVI, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and other influential figures.
