Beyond the profiling of the candidacy of the normal man, about which Magda Grădinaru has already written, beyond the inevitable and rather moderate attacks (compared to the rest of the speeches) towards President Iohannis and PNL, beyond the heavy and sometimes ridiculous conservative touches for a social democrat, Marcel Ciolacu’s candidate speech was a combination of hypocrisy and the exploitation of the profound ignorance of the electorate regarding the president’s powers.
Mr. Ciolacu spoke about the reindustrialization of Romania, with clear objectives - "reviving the major metallurgy, steel, and petrochemical plants with the help of private capital," massive investments in the chemical industry, a real partnership with the pharmaceutical sector, the growth of new generations of specialists through the technical education system, and a focus on innovation.
Marcel Ciolacu talked about the development of agriculture through the development of Romanian processing factories and an increase in subsidies for our farmers.
About the development of services through increased allocations for all funding programs for SMEs and support through financial incentives for companies engaged in exports.
About the development of medical and educational services through an advantageous system of deductions from salary taxes.
About the development of construction, protecting green spaces, and providing affordable housing for young people.
The state cannot decide on tax increases overnight, but everyone must pay the taxes in force, Marcel Ciolacu read from a sheet, through the glasses perched on the tip of his nose.
He also outlined an attractive plan for the diaspora: "every citizen legally established abroad, returning to the country, to have 10 years of tax exemptions for the money they bring back."
Overall, "the Romanian state, from the president to the last public servant, must be reformed so that it takes care of everyone!", Marcel Ciolacu read.
Whether good or bad, such projects, however, have nothing to do with the prerogatives of the president, the position for which Marcel Ciolacu is running. They are essentially part of the job description of a prime minister, which Marcel Ciolacu currently is.
What the President of Romania can and cannot do, we have already outlined with the Constitution and laws a few weeks ago. Very little, especially regarding those promised by Marcel Ciolacu and which depend on the daily lives of Romanians.
Appointing a prime minister over whom he no longer has any legal power later on, regardless of the direction in which things are heading. He can refuse to promulgate laws, but only to challenge them at the Constitutional Court or to send them back for reconsideration once, after which his signature becomes mandatory.
He does not have legislative initiative, he presides over government meetings in which he participates, but without any concrete leverage to impose his vision.
Presidents – prime ministers exist in presidential republics, the most well-known example being the USA, where the president is also the head of government, a formula that I personally support because it fully justifies direct and universal suffrage. But that's not the case here.
So Marcel Ciolacu can fulfill his promises only if:
1. He remains as prime minister, losing the presidential elections. This seems to be an option that Mr. Ciolacu is seriously considering, judging by the way he has secured his power at the helm of the PSD during the congress.
He appears to have done everything in his power to make his removal difficult, in case of defeat, by forming an authentic Praetorian guard of close associates in key positions.
2. As president, he intends to concentrate all power in his own hands, with a PSD prime minister, like Văcăroiu or Boc, whom he would dominate significantly.
But that's exactly what his advisors wrote in the speech and what Mr. Ciolacu read that he would not do: "Romania needs a president who understands that power must be shared, not monopolized by a single individual or party."
Moreover, since becoming prime minister, how many of the projects outlined in the speech has Mr. Ciolacu initiated?
It's quite amusing to hear Mr. Ciolacu say, "I strongly support freedom of expression, economic, religious, and sexual," after announcing last November that Romania would not comply with the ECHR decision requiring a legal status for same-sex couples, a decision that the government unsuccessfully challenged.
It's like hearing how he will support SMEs from the head of the government who has squeezed seven skins off the business environment and managed to drive accountants to the streets in exasperation.
There is also a hypocrisy to point out. We remember that the entire construct for the June 9 elections was based on the rise of the extremist danger.
This has completely disappeared from Mr. Ciolacu's speech. The adversaries are the liberals, partners in the government. This means that Mr. Ciolacu has lost hope of having George Simion in the second round and has begun efforts to capture the goodwill of the conservative nationalist electorate, for which there were plenty of messages in the presidential speech.