The Minister of Labor, Florin Manole, admitted on Wednesday evening that there are dissatisfactions within the PSD regarding the direction of the party in governance. He spoke about colleagues who believe that the party has strayed from the „founding mission of social democracy” through some measures adopted in the current term.
The statements come in the context where the PSD leader, Sorin Grindeanu, announced the extension of internal consultations regarding staying in government, supporting the prime minister, and the future of the coalition.
"There are dissatisfactions. It's not a secret"
Asked on B1 TV about the internal consultation announced by the PSD leadership, Florin Manole stated that tensions within the party are not new.
"As a minister, I believe it is appropriate to be reserved about the political course of the prime minister. However, I can say that yes, there are dissatisfactions within the PSD. I don't think I am being uncollegial by saying this, and I don't think I'm revealing any secret. There are colleagues who believe that we have lost some of the founding mission, let's say, of social democracy with certain measures that have been taken. We are not saying this for the first time," the Minister of Labor declared.
He avoided directly commenting on the future of the prime minister but confirmed the existence of a real debate within the party.
PSD and contested fiscal measures
Florin Manole reminded that the PSD publicly opposed certain fiscal measures discussed within the coalition, such as introducing a health contribution for certain categories or increasing VAT.
"The discussion about the social security contribution for pensions was public, and we expressed opposition then; the discussion about the VAT increase was public, and we expressed opposition then. There have been other discussions, in some we were successful – capping food prices, a measure that somewhat tempered inflation, unfortunately insufficient because VAT caused inflation to rise," the minister stated.
The statement suggests that part of the internal dissatisfactions target the compromises made within the coalition and their effects on the traditional PSD electorate.
Grindeanu questions the prime minister and USR
Also on Wednesday evening, Sorin Grindeanu announced that he will extend the internal consultation initiated back in December to clarify the party's position regarding staying in government.
Among the topics under discussion are keeping USR in the coalition and supporting the current prime minister, Ilie Bolojan.
"The protocol can remain the same, but with a different prime minister appointed by PNL," stated the PSD leader, adding that currently the coalition is "creaking badly."
The public messages conveyed by the social-democratic leaders indicate a period of internal turmoil and a possible renegotiation of the coalition's balance at a sensitive political moment.