President Nicușor Dan explains why he rules out early elections, even though, after the rejection of the Mureșan Government, the constitutional conditions for the dissolution of Parliament are met. The head of state says that Romania would remain at least five months with an interim government, without the possibility of a budget adjustment, at a time when the country depends on loans to finance current expenses.
The statements were made Wednesday evening in the Czech Republic, a few hours after the Siegfried Mureșan Government was rejected in the Parliament vote, with only 182 votes „for,” compared to the 233 required for investiture.
"Early elections... Theoretically sound very good. I mean, parties do not agree, we go back to the people, the people decide. But in practice, we are like this... We do not have a budget adjustment, right? An interim government cannot make an adjustment. Early elections mean five months in which we cannot make an adjustment, it means we no longer allocate funds to ambulances, we no longer allocate funds to the healthcare system," stated Nicușor Dan.
However, it has already been five months since we have had a government with full powers.
The President emphasized the financial situation of Romania and the state's dependence on loans. "We are a country that has been living on debt for a long time and, living on debt, cannot play with the financial flows that sustain its current activity," said the head of state.
According to Nicușor Dan, the message received from the investors financing Romania was also against triggering early elections. "The message I received from the investors - which are banks, funds, pension funds, and so on, that lend to Romania and ensure its current operation - was NO to early elections," stated the President.
"We do not play with the fate of this country"
Nicușor Dan also rejected the argument that returning to the polls could solve the political deadlock, stating that the outcome could lead to a parliamentary configuration similar to the current one.
"I am a responsible person, meaning we do not play with the fate of this country to see what comes out of an election. Let's see what early elections mean. It means the Central Electoral Bureau, panels on the streets, debates in television studios, and by February we will have a result of the early elections which, if we look at opinion polls, is pretty much what we have now, and again, the same parties have to negotiate the formation of a government," said the President.
He also invoked the mandate received in the presidential elections. "I go back to the mandate that people gave me a year and four months ago, which says pro-Western, and here is a discussion, and especially financial stability, so as not to play with people's incomes. There are people with children, with installments, we cannot play with their lives, simply," added Nicușor Dan.
Two rejected governments, the President moves towards a new designation
At this moment, for the first time in Romania the constitutional conditions allowing the dissolution of Parliament and the triggering of early elections are met.
The Mureșan Cabinet is the second government rejected by Parliament in recent months. The Adrian Veștea Government obtained 189 votes "for," while the one led by Siegfried Mureșan gathered only 182 on Wednesday.
The dissolution of Parliament is not automatic. The Constitution allows the President to take this step after consulting the presidents of the two Chambers and the leaders of the parliamentary groups, if the conditions provided by the fundamental law are met.
After Wednesday's vote, USR explicitly demanded early elections, PNL stated that it is prepared for both early elections and a new designation, while PSD requested a resumption of negotiations.
However, for the moment, Nicușor Dan has chosen the other path. The President announced that he will convene new consultations with the parties on Monday, October 5, and on the same day, he will make a new designation for the position of prime minister.
"Party interest" before national interest
When asked how many more governments need to be proposed until one will succeed in passing through Parliament, Nicușor Dan redirected the discussion to the moment when the current political crisis began.
"A responsible attitude would have been to have a government immediately after the motion of no confidence or a good understanding before the motion of no confidence, so we wouldn't reach the motion of no confidence. That didn't happen, and then I said it, and of course, I maintain what I said: between national interest and party interest, many times party interest prevailed," stated the President.
The Bolojan Government was dismissed on May 5 after the motion of no confidence initiated by PSD-AUR was adopted with 281 votes. Since then, Romania has failed to install a new government with full powers, and two Executive formulas - led by Adrian Veștea and Siegfried Mureșan - have been rejected by Parliament.