BUCHAREST : A Presidential Walkover

There is little question that Sunday’s election runoff will award incumbent President Ion Iliescu, who made a strong showing in the first round, another four years as head of his economically teetering and politically tense Balkan state.

What remains uncertain is the makeup of the governing alliance his party will need in view of a badly split parliamentary vote. Iliescu has called for a grand coalition to include the reform-minded Democratic Convention. But the leading opposition force has so far rejected Iliescu and his Democratic National Salvation Front, accusing them of harboring neo-communist views.

Failing a compromise with the opposition, Iliescu would be forced to align with ultranationalist parties that would threaten the tenuous hold Romanians have on peace and stability.