Romanian Prime Minister Takes Party Helm to Secure Grip on Power

(Bloomberg) -- Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila secured her grip on power by winning the leadership of the ruling party, which was left without a boss after her predecessor was jailed for corruption in May.

Dancila, 55, won the most votes at Saturday’s Social Democrat congress in Bucharest, defeating challengers who included the education minister and two lawmakers. Her victory signals the party backs her strategy of repairing ties with the European Union by abandoning a controversial policy agenda similar to those that landed Hungary and Poland in hot water with the bloc.

“We’re social democrats and we must return to our values which put the citizens’ needs above all and that means better living standards for all and investments in infrastructure,” Dancila told her party members before the vote. “I pledge to finish a highway from start to finish, not just pieces.”

A weak showing by the Social Democrats in European Parliament elections last month, along with Liviu Dragnea’s imprisonment for corruption, prompted Dancila to temporarily take the reins of the party and immediately seek a rapprochement with Brussels.

To contact the reporters on this story: Andra Timu in Bucharest at atimu@bloomberg.net;Irina Vilcu in Bucharest at isavu@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, James Amott

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