Iraq. Three Romanian soldiers had been killed during the mission, and at least eight were wounded. Conflict with Prime Minister Tăriceanu Băsescu continued to be rather popular due to his open style and hands-on approach. In his electoral campaign, he promised to be a președinte jucător , "player-president", in contrast to a more withdrawn president who would be just a mediator among political forces (thus creating in the eyes of some a juridical conflict of a constitutional nature). After he became president, as legally required, he resigned from the Democratic Party (PD). However, he remained very involved in day-to-day politics of Romania, often being accused by other political leaders of overstepping constitutional boundaries on the role of the president. During the course of his presidency, his relations with Popescu-Tăriceanu gradually soured, particularly following the Prime Minister's reversal of course in July 2005 after Tăriceanu initially announced he would resign causing early parliamentary elections, which some hoped would have resulted in the Justice and Truth Alliance governing alone. The ensuing poor relations between the President and the Prime Minister have become one of the primary themes of Romanian post-2004 politics, with many unrelated disputes converging towards this dichotomy. Under the Romanian Constitution, the president appoints the prime minister, but does not have the authority to dismiss him. On 11 January 2007, Băsescu presided over the first half of the meeting of the Consiliul Suprem al Magistraturii (CSM; Superior Council of the Magistracy) at which the election of its new president took place. Before the candidacies were announced, Băsescu publicly said to judge Anton Pandrea: "I heard you have announced your candidacy, Mr. Pandrea. I wish you great success." His former counselor Renate Weber later claimed that if Băsescu had not said those words, Pandrea might not have been elected: "If the President hadn’t said that, it would have been another candidacy, if not another President." When asked by the press, Băsescu responded to this criticism with: "I made a mistake, I made a mistake." A public scandal broke out when Elena Udrea, a presidential adviser, revealed to the press that then-Prime Minister Tăriceanu passed to Băsescu a "scandalous" written note. When the matter became public debate, Băsescu stated about the note: "The Prime Minister proposed to me a partnership, one, unfortunately, with our oligarchies." The note, written by the hand of the Prime Minister, was attached on top of a report