The Secretary General of the Romanian Government, Ștefan Radu Oprea (PSD), publicly apologized on Thursday after, in the context of job cuts at the Prime Minister’s Chancellery and the General Secretariat of the Government, he claimed that he was not making cuts because „people were just numbers at Auschwitz.”
Oprea argues that he was misunderstood and that he never intended to compare Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan’s reform with „the greatest crime of humanity, the Holocaust.” PNL and USR leaders have demanded his resignation.
"I uttered some words that were misunderstood. If they have awakened painful memories to my Jewish friends from Romania, Israel, or anywhere else in the world, I apologize.
Far from my mind was the idea of comparing a 'reform' (I put it in quotes because the purpose of a reform should not be to cut a number of positions, but to shape, transform, change a way of doing things into a better, more efficient one) with the greatest crime of humanity, the Holocaust, where over six million Jews died," Ștefan Radu Oprea wrote on Facebook.
He argues that the purpose of the strong words he used, non-offensive, is to draw attention to another idea.
"If we dehumanize in public discourse using numbers and statistics, forgetting that behind them are human beings with feelings, desires, responsibilities, personal problems, social connections that lead to other responsibilities, bank loan contracts, and so on, the risk of creating social tensions is very high," Ștefan Radu Oprea further wrote.
He maintains that "the example given is one that horrified humanity, but the concept remains and applies even on a smaller scale when we use numbers as an excuse and do not consider people."
"As defined today, 'reforms' do not take into account the individual performance of each of us, the level of training, or involvement in work activities. They only aim to lay off a number of people.
And I refuse to be a number or to think about people in these terms. I also believe that none of us—whether working in the public sector or in the private sector—should accept that our bosses only see us from the cost perspective, not from the value added by our work," the Government's Secretary General added.
Ștefan Radu Oprea believes that solutions can be found to reduce the salary fund without creating tensions, without offending, exposing those who cannot defend themselves.
"Moreover, we have done this at the General Secretariat of the Government, with a 6% decrease in salary expenses in 2025 compared to the previous year, with a further 4% reduction planned for this year to meet the coalition's agreed objective.
We did this together with our colleagues from the SGG, discussing with them, listening to them, and understanding them. That does not mean I do not know how to be critical and take measures with those who do not perform, but I try to be fair," Oprea further conveyed.
The Auschwitz Statement Provoked Harsh Reactions
On Wednesday, in the context of job cuts at the Prime Minister's Chancellery and the General Secretariat of the Government, Ștefan Radu Oprea stated: "I do not cut. People were just numbers at Auschwitz (...) I do not work based on statistics. People are not costs. I do not have a slave owner mentality."
Alexandru Muraru, the PNL Iași President, also wrote on Facebook that "in a serious excess of ignorance, the Government of Romania's General Secretariat, the PSD member Radu Oprea, compared the cutting of 70 positions from the government's organizational chart to AUSCHWITZ."
"It has become a frequent habit for uneducated, ignorant, and impertinent politicians to relativize or offend the memory of victims of criminal regimes. The list is long. But when you cover your incompetence and populism with a comparison related to the Holocaust victims, the only way to correct the fault is resignation. For this gesture, Oprea must leave," stated Alexandru Muraru.
USR spokesperson Cristian Seidler stated that "Radu Oprea is not some fool who does not realize what he is saying": "I publicly ask Radu Oprea to step down. If he could not retract what he said, he must step down from the public office where he made the enormity. If you make a comparison between extermination and dismissal but do not quickly realize how low you have sunk, you must quickly step down from the public office."
Seidler also believes that the apologies are "only partially credible," as "absolute evil cannot be trivialized."