Romanian President Traian Basescu accused Prime Minister Victor Ponta of working as a spy 10 years ago and using the position to speed the advance of his career as a prosecutor.

Ponta served as an undercover officer in Romania’s Foreign Intelligence Service from 1997 to 2001, Basescu said in an interview for Realitatea TV private station late yesterday. Ponta, who is poised to win next month’s presidential election, denied the allegations, saying Basescu was “telling lies.”

“Victor Ponta must admit that he was an undercover officer, which explains his career jump from a district prosecutor straight to the general prosecutors’ office in 1998,” Basescu said. “This information is not a bomb. It’s a reality that I’m ready to prove.”

A two-year feud between the president and prime minister has intensified during an election campaign that started 12 days ago. Ponta is poised to garner about 42 percent of the vote, according to a survey of 1,100 people between Sept. 15 and Sept. 18 conducted by the CSCI polling company.

“Expect increased political noise from Romania this month as the electoral campaign gathers momentum,” Otilia Dhand, an analyst at Teneo Intelligence in London, wrote in a note. “Ponta will attempt to boost his chances through populist spending and controversial messaging strategies.”

Basescu, who is barred from running for a new five-year term under the constitution, has repeatedly said he supports Elena Udrea in the race. Udrea is now ranked fourth among candidates with about 6 percent support, trailing Liberal party head Klaus Johannis and Calin Popescu Tariceanu, an ally of Ponta, according to the poll. The survey had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

“Basescu is a troubled man and Romania should stop depending on the internal turmoil of just one person,” Ponta told reporters in the eastern city of Iasi today.