Liberal vice president Crin Antonescu supports party colleague Norica Nicolai for the vacant Justice Minister seat and point at president Basescu, a former ally in the 2004 elections, as the main adversary of his party. In an interview for Hotnews.ro, Antonescu discusses the results at the European Parliament elections, the presumptive opposition within the party and the recent resignation of some heads of party branches around the country.

In the European Parliament elections, Liberals obtained 13.44% of the votes. Antonescu believes that, after two years of constant attacks from president Basescu and all other directions, the result is a good one, proving that Liberals (PNL) are still a "first-hand party' on the Romanian political stage. "Liberals had to regain the confidence of the right-wing voters, the electors who supported the party during the modernizing process Romania went through", Antonescu says. "President Basescu is decreasing in all polls and we count on it, since he is our main adversary", the official claims.

Regarding the 12 heads of county party branches, Antonescu says that it was not about sanctions, but about resignations. "They assumed responsibility for the way they organized themselves in the counties they represent", Antonescu explains. "We will have new people and new mechanisms in those places and things will become efficient again".

After Liberal Tudor Chiuariu resigned from the Justice Minister position, a fact considered normal by Antonescu, under the respective circumstances (president Basescu demanded the resignation in public), the vice president supports senator and former prosecutor Norica Nicolai for the vacant seat. Nicolai was also suggested after the first governmental reshuffle, but didn't obtain any job in the Government.