Marcel Ciolacu declared that he is ready to vote “on sight” a motion of censure against Ilie Bolojan and accuses him of adopting measures that affect the economy and of behaving like a “savior of mankind”, ignoring the governing partners.
Marcel Ciolacu declares that he is ready to vote by sight against Ilie Bolojan. PHOTO: archive
Within the coalition, there are dissatisfactions with the way the economic measures are communicated, and PSD leaders claim their marginalization in the decision-making process. While the social democrats accuse the Executive of making unilateral decisions, without consultation, Ilie Bolojan supports the accelerated pace of fiscal reforms, so Marcel Ciolacu’s tough statements on Tuesday, November 18, taken together with the prime minister’s refusal to clarify his public positions, fuel the perception that the current alliance is working harder and harder and that the risk of a political break becomes, for the first time, real.
PSD could vote a no-confidence motion against the Bolojan government
Invited to a show on Romania TV, former Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said that he is prepared to vote a motion of no confidence against the Government led by Ilie Bolojan, if the next fiscal packages do not contain clear economic recovery measures.
“I am firmly convinced that none will enter in the next period batch without measures to relaunch the economy. It can’t be done anymore! It can’t be done anymore! If it comes without economic measures, I tell you, first of all, I will vote for the motion. If he comes again, if he forces again… I will vote on the motion”, said Marcel Ciolacu.
Asked if this threat only reflects his opinion, the former prime minister stated that he would not have made such statements without first consulting with PSD leaders, invoking in this sense Olguța Vasilescu’s speech at the party Congress, in which she harshly criticized the Bolojan Government’s measures.
“Remember Mrs. Olguţa Vasilescu’s speech at the Congress. It is no longer possible, it is no longer possible for you to order and order only aberrations, only things that lead Romania to the head, not save Romania, and not to take into account all the partners in the coalition. I am not speaking from my head, it is the attribute of the new leadership of the party, I spoke with my colleagues, otherwise I would not have been allowed to speak to you, I never made it to speak over the new management, which seems to me as fair as possible”, stated Marcel Ciolacu.
“He wants to show that he is the savior of mankind”
The former prime minister also launched a harsh attack, without explicitly naming Ilie Bolojan, but making a clear reference to him and stating that “a man wants to show that he is the savior of mankind”.
“That man, with this attitude, that nothing works, alienates investors, increases the interest himself”, he said, accusing the Government of exaggerating the budget deficit problem and artificially creating economic panic.
“(…) A man wants to show that he is the savior of mankind. That man, with this attitude that nothing works, alienates investors, increases the interest rates himself. When you say: “Sir, Romania is insolvent”, naturally, I, who lends to you, look at the television and say: “Well, if the prime minister of the country is speaking, it means that it is so!” Naturally, I charge you higher interest… But look at the fact that there are public data at the Ministry of Finance: how did you borrow, with what interest?”, accused Marcel Ciolacu.
The trade deficit – “a bug”
At the same time, he categorized the deficit as “a bogeyman”, citing international examples to argue that states in expansion have recorded much larger deficits, and valued that the problem of the deficit must be negotiated with the European Commission, not transformed “into an economic crisis”.
“The trade deficit was as big as we got. Spain had a deficit of 11.1% when all the highways in Spain were built, when they were developed. Italy also had a deficit. Poland always exceeds the deficit. They turned a deficit problem – a deficit problem, which you negotiate with the Commission, as I negotiated for seven years, at a certain bearable pace to reduce it – into an economic crisis”Marcel Ciolacu also said.
He also accused the lack of coherence in the administration, stating that, while the layoffs are being discussed, the number of employees in the central apparatus has not decreased and that “the whole circus is on TV”.
Finally, when asked why the prime minister would act in this way, Ciolacu answered: “Because he wants to be the savior of mankind. That’s how he thinks, that he is a savior. Whose savior?”
