The Minister of Transport, Sorin Grindeanu, first vice-president of the PSD, criticized, on Thursday evening, the reaction of the PNL leader, Nicolae Ciucă, regarding the misunderstandings in the coalition regarding the establishment of the date of the presidential elections, categorizing him as “a Poznan in the service of the country”.
Sorin Grindeanu: PHOTO Inquam Photos / George Călin
“A Poznan in the service of the country… Mr. Ciucă tells us that he will only respect the legal provisions and deadlines regarding the date of the presidential elections. I wonder what was legal on March 3rd and became illegal on June 27th at PNL?! Probably all the effect of the heat outside and the selfies with the TV….“, wrote Sorin Grindeanu on his Facebook page.
The first vice-president of the PSD also published an internal document of the PNL, regarding the calendar of this year’s elections, the presidential elections being set for September 15 and 29. The document is dated March 3 and was allegedly signed by the leader of the liberals Nicolae Ciucă.
In a televised intervention on Romania TV, Sorin Grindeanu stated that he does not understand the “sudden change” of attitude of the liberals and the mention of the PNL president “that it is not legal”.
“I saw that mention by Mr. President Ciucă in which he said that it is not legal, that we, the PSD leadership, have hidden plans, or we have a hidden agenda, and I wanted to publish the material that you showed, which was approved in the leadership structures of both PNL and PSD. And if you remember, my party president, Marcel Ciolacu, said when it was decided to merge the European parliamentary and local elections that yes, we agree, if we decide the whole calendar, namely the presidential, parliamentary and so on. And our governing colleagues, those from the PNL, agreed, as evidenced by what we published today. That’s why I don’t understand this sudden change. (…) Today, when I saw what Mr. President Ciucă said, namely the fact that it is somehow illegal, that we are leaving the legal framework if the elections are in September, I wanted to make this post, reminding him that however in March almost unanimously voted in the leadership forum of the PNL these data, which were not illegal in March, just as they are not illegal now.”, said Sorin Grindeanu.
The first vice-president of the PSD mentioned that he was at almost all the coalitions held in March and that this calendar was decided “being in a broader formula from both PSD and PNL” at the same time denying the speculations about the head of state: “There was no mention for a second of the connection between the departure of President Iohannis to a position and the date of the elections”Grindeanu explained.
Grindeanu: It was one of our requirements
The social democrat stated that the PSD requirement was behind the decision on the given calendar, as a result of the “yielding” on the merging of the elections.
“That was one of our demands, given the concession, if you will, from the PSD, after all, on this merger. I think that in the end we could get one or two more MEPs if we had gone separately. We made this political decision within the Coalition which we respected and followed through on, asking instead for something else, namely elections in September. We proposed 1, 15 within the coalition, September 1 round 1, 15 round 2,. And the PNL came and proposed, I think through the voice of Mr. Motreanu, if I’m not mistaken, 15, 29. I agreed. Things seem to have changed“, said Sorin Grindeanu, when asked what were the reasons for the first decision on the presidential election calendar.
Asked what they will do if the Minister of the Interior, Cătălin Predoiu (PNL) does not prepare the draft government decisions regarding the organization of elections in September, and if they will oblige him, Grindeanu answered: “I do not think that a decision can be adopted by the Government as long as the initiator does not promote it. I know there may be some legal levers, but I don’t think the Prime Minister will resort to them, nor do we know him acting in this form. And, after all, it is not Mr. Predoiu’s fault that the political decision of the party he represents is different”.
Asked why he thinks the liberals changed their minds about this calendar, the first vice-president of the PSD stated: “I think there are electoral calculations that colleagues from the PNL have made. I guess. I understand that they have certain polls that do not take Mr. Ciucă to the 2nd round“, adding that he hopes the situation will be clarified in the next coalition meetings.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Thursday that it is obvious that the PNL wants to change the rules of the game, referring to the deadlock in the coalition on setting the date of the presidential elections, and also launching several attacks on the liberal leader Nicolae Ciucă. “My approach as president of the PSD is very clear, they did not keep their word. Maybe we need to understand that honor is not only on the boards, honor is also in the discussions within the coalition. On the other hand, we must also understand the fact that we no longer have Militia, we have Police, and Romania has fundamentally changed and we, the politicians, if we want to be respected, we must also change”, said, among others, Marcel Ciolacu.
The President of the PNL, Nicolae Ciucă, reacted to the PSD leader’s attack, stating that it must be respected “the provisions and within the legal terms” regarding the presidential election.
“Honestly, I really don’t understand why this reaction. Outside is very hot. Yes, I can understand that. We are happy with the result of the Romanian team’s match last night. Yes, and I use this opportunity to congratulate the players of the national football team. But when it comes to the presidential elections, we must stay within the legal provisions and legal deadlines. As such, let’s sit down and discuss, let’s discuss based on principles, based on rules, not to do it in such a way as to respect the personal agenda of PSD leaders“, declared Nicolae Ciucă, in a video message posted on his Facebook page.
