Doctor Cătălin Cîrstoiu launched his candidacy for the Mayor of the Capital on Wednesday, supported by PNL and PSD, in a large event at the Palace of the Parliament.
Cîrstoiu first took the stage flanked by his two campaign coordinators, Gabriela Firea and Sebastian Burduja. The two took turns speaking. First, Firea spoke, her voice trembling, about the joy of discussing Bucharest on the Day of Happiness and the importance of overcoming ego for the sake of serving the people. Burduja followed, quoting Ionel Brătianu on how „the Bucharesters were the initiators of great deeds” in the past, but now have become captives of Nicușor Dan’s empty promises.
Firea and Burduja then stepped off the stage, and the leaders of the coalition, Nicolae Ciucă and Marcel Ciolacu, took the stage.
First to speak was the leader of the PNL, who assured Cîrstoiu of full support to become the General Mayor of Bucharest, also highlighting the qualities that recommend him for this position: "We will have someone who knows how to cut, knows how to heal, and put an entire organism back into operation."
As for Ciolacu, he attacked Nicușor Dan for not knowing how to collaborate and work in a team, pointing out that he has never been approached by the current mayor since becoming prime minister, instead, he hears him complain that he hasn't been able to fulfill his promises. Ciolacu emphasized that he has not argued with Gabriela Firea, who did not make any gestures to confirm or deny what her party leader said.
The PSD leader congratulated the coalition for finding the perfect candidate, stating that what they were looking for was "someone with a social-democratic profession, but with liberal inclinations or vice versa."
When asked by journalists about Cîrstoiu's chances, Ciolacu burst out: "Who should I compare him with? Who is a rival for him? Who should I compare him with? With Nicușor Dan? For 4 years, he has been complaining and has not achieved anything, he's putting on a show, and the capital of Romania is stagnating. Who should I compare him with, with Piedone? He's a very good sector mayor. That's it! Who is as professional as Dr. Cîrstoiu? What kind of people does Piedone gather around him to develop the Capital?"
Cîrstoiu presented himself as a survivor of cancer with famous ancestors
Finally, Cîrstoiu took the floor. He stated that he decided to run because, as a doctor, he concluded that the health of the city is extremely important for the health of its citizens.
In this context, Cîrstoiu revealed that he is a cancer survivor and that, if he receives the votes of the people of Bucharest, he will help them overcome the cancer that affects the Capital.
"If I were to make a personal confession, maybe one of my obligations to my patients was to ensure treatment for rare diseases - cancer - at the University Hospital, and I did it, I believe. Looking at this city, I saw that it probably has the same disease, this disease that haunted me, and you have in front of you a survivor of this disease, a somewhat painful confession for me. Together, we will overcome a sick city and make it healthy," Cîrstoiu said.
When asked if he consulted with his godfather, Traian Băsescu, before deciding to run, Cîrstoiu seemed annoyed.
"Very good question. I like that you ask me about Traian Băsescu, but do not ask me, if you refer to my relatives, about my great-grandfather on my mother's side and my great-grandmother on my father's side. One founded a large part of the authentic Romanian folklore in writing, his voice is on the soundtrack of the movie 'Baltagul,' and the other is Ion Mihalache," Cîrstoiu sharply replied.
He then responded to a question about Băsescu: "He explained to me why it is not good to do this, giving me some strictly human arguments, something my father also did. I haven't listened, that's how I am, I have never listened."
When asked if he considers Sorin Oprescu a model of administration, given their similar professional paths, Cîrstoiu replied: "We are two completely different people in terms of medical preparation and structure, but we have one thing in common - wherever we went, each of us did good things."
Journalists also wanted to know specifically what plans he has for the Capital, considering that there are only 82 days left until the elections. When asked how he will solve the district heating problem, Cîrstoiu listed a few possible solutions - merging ELCEN with RADET (the current Termoenergetica), promoting cogeneration, and trigeneration.
He avoided giving a timeframe when reminded that Nicușor Dan said it would take many years before the district heating issue is resolved: "I work from 5 in the morning until the next day, and I have serious concerns."
We invite you to read Ioana Ene Dogioiu's analysis - The Cîrstoiu Experiment