Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu declared, on Saturday, at the county election conference of the PSD Harghita organization, that he will not accept laws that favor Romanians of other ethnicities, condemning the statements regarding the “nonsense with the autonomy of the Szeklerland”, which “will never exist “. The prime minister also issued a challenge to the leader of the UDMR, Kelemen Hunor.
Marcel Ciolacu: It is the moment of political maturity in Romania Photo: Archive
“I think it is normal to be here today. Harghita is in the heart of Romania, and Harghita and Covasna have by far one of Romania's biggest brands. I think it is an obligation of us and of me as president of the PSD. We don't have to punish counties. Too much time has been spent on politics in Romania and the administration, especially at the central level, trying to distribute justice. Only God dispenses justice. We mortals and sinners must give equal chances to Romanians throughout Romania”, declared Marcel Ciolacu, at the county election conference of the PSD Harghita organization.
Marcel Ciolacu launched a challenge to the leader of the UDMR, Kelemen Hunor, regarding the representation in Parliament of Romanian communities from counties such as Harghita or Covasna.
“I am proud that you are in first place among all PSD organizations in Romania. (…) There was no, how to modify laws so that there would be a parliamentarian from the Romanian parties. I don't think we need to change any more laws. I think that today I can make a challenge to Mr. President Kelemen Hunor, especially since he is from Harghita County, to have a representative of the Romanian parties on the lists of the UDMR and I promise him that I will take a representative of the UDMR on the lists of the PSD in Bucharest. And this will show a gesture of normality, a gesture that in fact we are all Romanians. They are really Romanians of Hungarian ethnicity, but they live in Romania”, said Ciolacu.
The Prime Minister condemned the statements regarding an “autonomy of the Szeklerland” emphasizing that this will never exist.
“Times have passed. Both you and I want to raise our children in a normal country. To do this, first and foremost we must behave normally. Let's finish with the nonsense, with the autonomy of the Szeklerland. It wasn't and never will be. Romania in the Romanian Constitution is a sovereign state and no one will ever divide Transylvania. Romania is a member of the European Union, it is a member of NATO, all these stories and all these enmities appear when there are elections. See God, this is the way of political leaders to mobilize their electorate to vote. I have overcome those times. They are mixed families. Our children go to school together. We are in Romania and they are Romanians.
Sometimes they would come to me and tell me “I was in Topliţa and I entered a store, and the lady who served me didn't know Romanian.” This is also possible. But, forgive me, that lady who doesn't know Romanian condemns herself in the heart of Romania. Whoever urges her not to learn Romanian in Romania, being a Romanian citizen, is wrong. In fact and by law, it isolates itself in a certain geographical area. If he finished a university in Bucharest, he would have no chance to find a job in Bucharest or in Iaşi or in any other part of the country. It's not something I'm proud of. I don't know how to speak Romanian in Romania, in fact, you condemn yourself not to evolve“, said Marcel Ciolacu.
The prime minister stated that he will not accept laws that favor Romanians of other ethnicities, urging respect.
“Things must be looked at in a completely different way. We from Bucharest must not come and give you lessons, as you live at home. I really will never accept excesses. I will not accept that in Romania there are laws that favor certain Romanians of other ethnicities. We are all equal. We must respect each other. If we do not respect each other, they must receive the rule of law because that is how democracy is maintained. It is not anarchy, otherwise, we can only develop together, invest much more in your counties, in the specifics of your counties“, declared the PSD president.
Ciolacu, about a PSD – PNL alliance from 2025: There is no other option
The Prime Minister emphasized that maintaining the current governing alliance, PSD and PNL, after the elections is the only viable option.
“I am one of those who supported our entry into government at a complicated moment in Romania (…) How Romania would have looked without a coherent government. How Romania would have looked at this time without political stability? Yes, I am one of those who believe that at this moment we must show Romanians the correct path, that of political stability. Look at the entire political chessboard and you will see that another coalition, alliance in 2025 can only be drawn around the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party, the traditional opponents of the Social Democratic Party, just as we are the traditional opponents of the National Liberal Party . These are the times, we must adapt to the times we are going through, for the interest of Romanians and Romania“, Ciolacu said.
Marcel Ciolacu stated that the current governing alliance and the merging of local and European elections was the best decision, noting that there was no other option, criticizing the USR party in this sense.
“There is no other option. Do you want us to bring back USR to govern with PSD? They governed with PNL and you saw the disaster, how much money is continuously coming to us to pay bills. Vaciinuri, at Roșia Monatană. They used Roșia Montană to invent themselves as a political entity and now we are getting a bill, according to some two billion dollars, according to others, five billion dollars. This is the bill that all Romanians will pay. (…)
We have joint elections on June 9. There are also local elections where each party nominates its candidates and we also have European Parliament elections where each party nominates its candidates”, said Ciolacu, adding that several critical discussions have appeared in this regard.
The PSD leader later stated, in a press conference, that regardless of ethnicity, the elected “must support the development of localities, of the county”.
“It was a conference where I wanted to convey a clear message, regardless of whether we are Romanians of Hungarian ethnicity or Romanians. We must see first and foremost the development of the localities, of the county. I came accompanied by the Minister of European Funds, with state secretaries from the Ministry of Development. At this moment, in your county there are ongoing investments of over 2.2 billion. I think it is the largest amount since the Revolution. And in the coming years, although we have so far deposited 24 billion in the financial exercise, we still have up to 46 billion euros”, said Marcel Ciolacu.
The Prime Minister stated that Romania is heading in the right direction, stressing that political stability is important in this regard.
“So from my point of view, as an act of government, Romania is in the right direction. And Romania can only develop when there is political stability. Romania cannot develop, like any other state, in a chaos, in a scandal and in an enmity. It is the moment of political maturity in Romania and let us see first and foremost the interest of Romania and the Romanians”, said Marcel Ciolacu, thanking the organizers for the conference “owned and Romanian“.
