Antonescu said that he did not leave politics, but he did give up his candidacy despite the fact that he believed he would have been by far "the strongest candidate of the right".
"I did not say that I was the only one able to defeat Victor Ponta, I hope any other candidate or opponent of the right, of a society that wants to breathe freely will defeat him. I’ve only said that currently I have the best advantage”, Antonescu specified.
He said his retirement had nothing to do with Traian Basescu nor with "anyone and anything outside PNL" or outside his "perfectly free" conscience.