Nicolae Ciuc\u0103, leader of the National Liberal Party, part of the governing coalition, launched his long-awaited book during a cooking show on Sunday, September 8.\u00a0The volume, available for download for free, recounts both the personal and professional life of the general-turned-politician and is meant to publicize his candidacy for the presidency.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The book, titled In the Service of the Country<\/em>, was launched on a TV show broadcast by Prima TV, a culinary program hosted by poet Mircea Dinescu. During the show, the PNL leader highlighted that he wrote the book with love, as it encompasses his entire life.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ciuc\u0103 finally released the book after many controversies regarding the EUR 4 million allocated by PNL for its promotion. In Romania, parliamentary political parties receive financing from the state budget. The book was also featured in a promotional video<\/a>.<\/p>\n The release, delayed since June, also comes exactly one week before the PNL leader is set to be named his party\u2019s candidate for the December presidential elections.<\/p>\n Nicolae Ciuc\u0103\u2019s book sparked a series of ironies within the ruling coalition. Prime minister and head of the Social Democratic Party, Marcel Ciolacu, commented during a press conference that the PNL leader’s biography would be a book widely read by Romanians.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a bestseller, I\u2019m sure, especially given the promotion it\u2019s had,\u201d Ciolacu said, cited by Digi24<\/a>. The PNL leader quickly responded to his coalition colleague\u2019s remark, noting that Marcel Ciolacu would “receive a signed copy.”<\/p>\n Nicolae Ciuc\u0103 also announced that the book is available for free at Nicolaeciuca.ro, which also allows visitors to donate to the veterans\u2019 association.\u00a0<\/p>\n The PNL leader invited Romanians to read his book, dedicating it “to my family and my comrades.”<\/p>\n \u201cEvery person\u2019s life is, in its own way, a story. […] As for my own story so far, its thread has carried me from the hearth of the village Pleni\u021ba and the blooming springs of P\u0103durea Bujorului to the African savannah, the mountains of Afghanistan, the sand dunes of Iraq, or Pia\u021ba Victoriei in Bucharest. It may seem like an unusual story, but you\u2019ll see it\u2019s not,\u201d Nicolae Ciuc\u0103 added in a Facebook post.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n