UDMR Vice Prime Minister Tanczos Barna took a clear and unequivocal stance on the practice of „survival bribery” on Thursday:
„I don’t give, I don’t take. It’s very simple. I have nothing to do with it.”
Tanczos Barna's firm statements on TVR Info stand as an exception in a governmental landscape where hesitations, ambiguities, and silences on the topic of corruption seem more like the rule than the exception.
Tanczos Barna emphasized that he has never resorted to bribery, not even in his youth: "I wouldn't even give to the policeman who stopped me. That's why I had plenty of problems, because I was known in the area as the loudmouth who doesn't solve the problem that way."
When asked if, as a farmer, he had to offer money or favors to carry out his activities, the Vice Prime Minister ironically replied: "Especially for cows, what else could you give there? In agriculture, it's not like in consulting or other big businesses. There, if we survive, we are satisfied."
I remember. I don't give bribes, I don't take them.
Statement at minute 13 of the video:
PRIM PLAN cu Marinela Mititelu- ediția din 30 iulie 2025 (@TVRINFO)
His unequivocal position differs visibly from the evasive response given by President Nicușor Dan, as reported by SpotMedia.
During yesterday's press conference, Nicușor Dan was asked: "Have you ever given a bribe?" He replied, chuckling smugly: "I don't remember." That's it.
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan also stated on Tuesday that during his time as a merchant, it was common practice for police officers to stop people "and look for an issue," and those stopped had to choose between receiving a fine or "resolving it in a friendly manner." "And each person acted as they saw fit," said the Prime Minister. He emphasized that he did not give bribes but talked about a deeply flawed system in which such situations were common.
Meanwhile, the scandal sparked by former Vice Prime Minister Dragoș Anastasiu continues to stir the political scene after he admitted to offering a bribe to a tax official for eight years, which he described as a "survival bribe."
In this context, it was reported yesterday that the current Minister of Transport, Ciprian Șerban (PSD), was involved in a corruption case in 2012 when he was a young businessman and had not yet joined the ranks of the PSD. According to an investigation by Europa Liberă, Șerban offered bribes multiple times to officials from the Răducăneni Forestry Department (Iași County) in connection with a forestry works contract worth over 650,000 lei.
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