Nicușor Dan is the most powerful man in the country following the free elections, having been voted for by over 6 million people. The decisions made based on his experience, personality, and vision impact all citizens, regardless of whether they are interested in politics or not.
For this reason, it is important for the public opinion to understand how the head of state thinks and makes decisions.
It has been a year since Nicușor Dan stepped into the Cotroceni Palace, becoming the President of Romania following a complicated electoral confrontation in two rounds, which aimed to show the world that our country is still a functional democracy and did not collapse following the cancellation of the presidential elections in November 2024.
From the beginning of his term, Nicușor Dan's decisions and actions have caused unpleasant surprises, then perplexity, and now, after the dismissal of the Bolojan Government, they have sparked protests against him, where chants of "Nicușor, traitor!" were heard.
Many people rightfully wonder what has happened to the president who received 6 million votes from voters who want a European Romania that does not slide into extremism.
To attempt an answer to this simple question, we will let Nicușor Dan speak, who, after a long period of silence, began communicating with the public again on Wednesday.
Ending here with a question, I assume that we all have more or fewer principles, but how many of you have them built like a Lego pyramid, so that you prioritize them and are ready to violate some of them because others are more important at that moment? When you have such a structure in your mind, can it still be said that you have principles and values or just beliefs and interests, even if they are very noble?
Manuela Mureșan, former volunteer at the Union Save Bucharest, NGO founded by Nicușor Dan
Next, we will hear from people who have known him, worked with him in the past, people who have supported and continue to support him in his political projects, as well as some who have distanced themselves from him.
These testimonies are not definitive judgments, they are not infallible, and it is necessary, in evaluating them, to start from the premise that people can change.
However, they are relevant because they represent an open window through which one can observe a part of Nicușor Dan's thinking, positioning, and reaction methods.
How does the president view himself?
"... I am a person with a 20-year history (political experience - ed.). And, when I make decisions, I believe that everyone should be convinced that the decisions... are made in the mandate I obtained and for the good of Romania," said Nicușor Dan, Wednesday evening, in Cluj, in a discussion with reporters.
Interpretation of the statement. In the above disclosure, the first after the collapse of the Veștea Government in Parliament, Nicușor Dan wants to assure his voters that he is full of good intentions.
He also argues that his actions are for the "good of Romania," a concept that the president has not clearly defined since taking office; moreover, some of his decisions have created confusion and mistrust.
For example, the strange speech he gave on Europe Day, where he criticized the Union in a gratuitous manner.
Additionally, Nicușor Dan tells the public that his reasoning is step-by-step and that, often, the intermediaries until reaching the final goal, about which citizens know nothing, can be misunderstood and can have unexpected effects.
Referring to his "way of being" itself creates confusion because Nicușor Dan was not elected to experiment on the nation's back but to deliver what he promised during the electoral campaign.
The non-transparent appointment for the position of prime minister of a politician from a party, without prior negotiations with that party, if it was an intermediate step, has led to the president's fall into an abyss from which it is difficult to say how and when he will be able to emerge.
He cannot consider emotional imputations
By mistake, looking for the toilet, I came across him in a windowless room, full of files, where, with a pen in hand, he was correcting something. I was to find out that his trusted man at the time acted as a courier between the two rooms, bringing and conveying instructions to the team designing the future party status. His socialization phobia blocked any form of communication in groups, especially in polemical contexts," Laurentiu Ștefănescu recounted.
Nicușor Dan's social phobia and lack of communication skills have been confirmed by many of his collaborators over time.
In the first three years since becoming the mayor of Bucharest, Nicușor Dan closed all his social media accounts. He only reopened them when he decided to run for a second term.
He does not assume personal loyalties
The above description is strikingly relevant, validating exactly what Nicușor Dan claimed about his step-by-step reasoning, where some can have unexpected effects, with only the final goal, whatever it may be, counting for the President of Romania.
The pyramid of values
He is now in the same situation: at the top of his pyramid are Romania's pro-Western direction and keeping the economy afloat. This logically means that for him, corruption and the misfortunes caused by the PSD are no longer important. Nor is justice important.
This seems to be the explanation of his behavior. He is neither a PSD supporter, nor weak, nor stupid, nor dishonest; he has chosen what is important to him and moves in that direction," Manuela Mureșan added in the Facebook post.
All three public testimonies above, as well as others, outline the personality, reasoning behind decisions, and action methods of the President of Romania.
The biggest problem, one that is visible and constantly appears in references to Nicușor Dan's personality, is his tendency towards isolation, which, in the position he holds, is equivalent, no more, no less, to losing political relevance.