Vlad Gheorghe, the honorary adviser to Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, declared on Wednesday, February 25, that the referendum on the assimilation of Ilfov County in Bucharest is “a topical issue for residents” from both areas and a solution to prevent “cementing some people in positions”.
The day before, the honorary councilor stated in a post on Facebook that such a referendum should directly target administrative reorganization and not secondary themes, supporting the idea of a “A Single Bucharest”.
“A referendum in Ilfov county must be held. But on the right topic: the assimilation of Ilfov to Bucharest and the creation of a single Bucharest, with a single administration for the entire metropolitan area”he said.
Afterwards, Hubert Thuma, the president of the Ilfov County Council (CJ) said on Facebook that it was “unacceptable for a simple councilor to launch such an attack on the 540,000 inhabitants of Ilfov”.
When asked on Wednesday, February 25, at Digi24, about the proposal, Vlad Gheorghe stated that he had discussed it publicly “many times”.
“Every time there was such a discussion regarding a referendum, I supported it, because it is a topical issue for the residents of Ilfov and Bucharest.
I discussed with the prime minister about several proposals, when there was this debate during the electoral campaign in Bucharest. (…) I don’t want to put words in his mouth, let alone talk about discussions that are not in the public space. It was a topic that I discussed both with the prime minister and with Ciprian Ciucu”, he specified.
Asked about “the local barons who threaten today, with a fantastic toupeu, the blockade of Bucharest if their financial claims are not met” (statement from Facebook post by Prime Minister’s Advisor), Vlad Gheorghe said that the referendum would help prevent such situations.
Hubert Thuma: “The attitude of the councilor leaves much to be desired”
Hubert Thuma, invited in turn to the mentioned television, stated that, when discussing this county, “it must be equally important for Ilfoveni”.
“For half a million people, Ilfov is home. The attitude of the councilor leaves much to be desired. I think it is good to remind everyone that Ilfov is an important county and contributes significantly to Romania’s GDP”, said the liberal.
Also questioned about the “local barons”, the president CJ Ilfov stated that he does not feel targeted by Vlad Gheorghe’s statement, also launching an attack on him.
“I do not feel concerned by the statement of a councilor who became a councilor so as not to remain unemployed after withdrawing from the campaign (no campaign for the local elections in Bucharest).
Ilfovenians are not second-class citizens. I never asked for privileges; we ask for fairness, balance and a real partnership with Bucharest”, said Hubert Thuma.
He also said that “there are 140,000 people from Ilfov out of the 550,000 who work with documents in Bucharest” and which generates “an annual income of 1.2 billion lei” for the Capital.
“People who live in Ilfov, but work in Bucharest, put considerable pressure on the authorities in Ilfov. There are many services that we have to offer to citizens who contribute to the budget of the Capital, not to that of IlfovThuma said.
