Patapievici has also occasionally come under criticism from political detractors and from opponents of President Băsescu, with whom he has long had a good relationship. An example of this was in 2007 when Patapievici defended Băsescu when the parliament had begun an impeachment procedure against the President. Patavievici blamed the disagreements between the presidents and prime-ministers on the Romanian Constitution. Critics of Băsescu labeled Patapievici and two other supporters at the time, Gabriel Liiceanu, and Vladimir Tismăneanu, as "Băsescu's intellectuals", a label that the three dismissed.