The Bolojan Government cannot be saved in the face of the alliance between AUR and PSD. Moreover, it is hard to assume that the current political crisis will disappear once the Prime Minister leaves. Even in the case of forming a new coalition PSD-PNL-USR-UDMR, its life will be short, says the USR leader.
Relevant Quotes:
- What Ilie Bolojan and this government have brought is a minimum of character. And I measure my words carefully: it is a minimum of character that bothers some people.
- Mediation is not a personal preference of the president; it is a constitutional attribute, a constitutional obligation, if you will. I can tell you, discussing relatively often with him, that the president maintains the honesty he has always shown and feels the responsibility for the dramatic situation in which Romania finds itself.
- Nicusor Dan will never betray. He will not betray the citizens who voted for him. Six million people chose a pro-European option. That is what the president noticed, and I guarantee you that in that direction, he makes all decisions.
- Everything you see publicly from President Nicusor Dan, you can expect him to say in private, and vice versa. He is not a hidden person. And the relationship with Ilie Bolojan has always been extremely respectful and serious.
What is USR’s position given the strong signals that the Bolojan Government could fall to the vote of no confidence?
Our position is very clear: there is a government that has worked well. Ilie Bolojan and this governance, without making revolutions or the deepest reforms we desired, have brought something essential – a minimum of character. We haven’t seen such a thing since Cioloș, and this minimum of character bothers some people.
It is irresponsible for PSD to leave the coalition it negotiated and signed. The government program has been respected. There were things that needed to be done and were not done precisely because PSD opposed them. It seems profoundly irresponsible for PSD to make this move in the current economic situation.
From the perspective of your relationship with President Nicușor Dan, as one of his advisors, could the crisis have been avoided through the president's intervention, taking a side, or through firmer mediation?
Mediation is not a personal preference of the president; it is a constitutional attribute, a constitutional obligation. Speaking relatively often with him, I can tell you that the president maintains the honesty he has always shown and feels the responsibility for the dramatic situation that Ilie Bolojan inherited as head of the Government from the Ciolacu Government.
President Nicușor Dan looks at the parliamentary arithmetic, which only changes through elections, and notes that there is no majority except in the PSD-PNL-USR formula and possibly UDMR. The only other possible majority would be with those we call "extremists." Public messages from leaders like George Simion often have a xenophobic note - personal attacks, things that in Europe we have seen can lead to situations like those before World War II.
There are certain accusations against the president's attitude. Many of his voters say he could have done more, he could have supported Ilie Bolojan more. Is this criticism true?
I have known Mr. Nicușor Dan for several years. We have not always been on the same side, we have had our own disagreements. I have come to know him well enough to appreciate what is commendable, and I can tell you that, in addition to honesty, he is a man who will never betray the citizens who voted for him.
Six million people chose a pro-European option in May 2025. That is what the president noticed, and I guarantee you that he makes all decisions in that direction. Many of the criticisms against him are unwarranted and do not reflect the president's real attitude.
Many of his voters have accused the president of not supporting Premier Ilie Bolojan enough. Is there tension between President Nicușor Dan and Ilie Bolojan?
I have not seen such tension. I have attended several meetings, including the first one when Ilie Bolojan was still the interim president of Romania. There has never really been tension.
There may have been different opinions, for example, on the story of raising VAT, something that was public. Everything you see publicly from President Nicușor Dan, you can expect him to say in private, and vice versa. He is not a hidden person. The relationship with Ilie Bolojan has always been extremely respectful and serious.
What happened is a rupture between PSD and Ilie Bolojan, similar to the one between PSD and Diana Buzoianu. They asked for and voted for her dismissal in Parliament, a simple motion against her. You don't do that in a coalition with a signed protocol.
They had several acts of disloyalty towards the government program and ministers, with completely baseless accusations, as happened in the case of Diana Buzoianu.
Do you think the president and the premier have overcome the divergence on the VAT issue?
Yes, definitely, for a long time. I have been in a conflict with Nicușor Dan for years. He is not someone who holds grudges or has debts to pay. That chapter is closed, and the president always focuses on the public interest.
Many expect the president to perform political magic to save the premier or find a formula for PSD to feel they have erred. Is such an expectation realistic?
I do not believe in heroes. In politics, I believe more in long-term effort, good faith, and collaboration. As long as Nicușor Dan, Ilie Bolojan, Dominic Fritz, and others seek the good of Romania, they must collaborate. We have already seen a fierce betrayal by PSD towards the coalition it was part of.
In coalition meetings, PSD always had the most criticisms. Many things were canceled or postponed because PSD opposed them. The reforms that Diana Buzoianu wanted to implement in the environment were met with phone calls from PSD. The heinous criticisms against Oana Țoiu and the wave of criticisms against Ionuț Moșteanu often came from PSD.
Let's assume the motion passes. The Bolojan Government is dismissed. Can a coalition of PSD, PNL, USR, and UDMR still function?
Hard to say. Arithmetically, either the PSD–PNL–USR–UDMR formula works, or PSD–AUR, depending on how the motion is voted. Technically, you have the possibility of a pro-European coalition, but the machine has just lost a wheel.
The idea that PSD can come and say "we no longer like Diana Buzoianu, we vote against her, we also don't like the prime minister, so we vote against him" and play this double game - on one hand, stopping reforms within the coalition, and on the other hand, in the evening, trying to be more golden than AUR on TV - cannot work in the long run.
Say that, in the event the coalition is rebuilt, a new crisis can quickly arise as trust between partners has disappeared?
The premises are very poor with a PSD party functioning like this. What PSD is doing at this moment is profoundly immoral and disloyal. You can't do what you've done and then expect us to sit back at the table, tell us who the prime minister should be, and then inform us weekly when you're going to remove the next one, until you take the majority into your hands with AUR.
If PSD imagines it can govern together with AUR, then do it openly. You can't, on one hand, lead in a pro-European majority, with our support and that of a large part of the population that doesn't want to head towards Russia, but rather to have a reformed, European state, and on the other hand, do all the dirt you've done. PSD is no longer at 40%, it is no longer the master of Romania.
How long do you think it will take until we have a new government?
I wish I could read the stars. If the motion is voted on next week, we have a maximum of 45 days of interim. Hard weeks are coming, in a moment as bad as it gets. By the end of May, we have time to solve the SAFE File - 16 billion euros, a very cheap loan, negotiated at the EU level. On the other hand, we have the PNRR, money that we are at risk of losing if we do not make all the necessary reforms by August 31.
One thing I would reproach Ilie Bolojan for: not presenting the disastrous situation he inherited when he became prime minister. I hope he does so, if the motion passes.