Nicușor Dan, somat by a PSD leader to quickly adopt a clear position on the Vexler law: We risk to believe that you play with the fire

PSD vice-president Victoria Stoiciu asked President Nicușor Dan on Monday to clarify his position without ambiguity to the Legionary Movement, accusing him of feeding the confusion with “slippery” statements and by the insistence of resubmitting the law that tightens the punishments for promoting the symbols and organizations.

“You have to clarify historically and morally on an essential point: there is no” good legionary movement “which, at one point, would have deviated into the path of hatred. Violence was in the DNA of legionaryism from the first day. Corneliu Zelea-Codreanu started his political career, from the student, by assassinating the prefect from Iași. There followed a whole string of crimes and pogroms. The historical facts are unbeatable, and the myth of “peaceful legionaries” is just as dangerous as the ideology itself, “Stoiciu wrote in a Facebook post.

Social-Democrat claims that the president's reluctance to explicitly condemn the Legionary Movement, doubled by the decision to resubmit the Vexler Law in Parliament, “increases ambiguity” and risks feeding subtle forms of rehabilitation of this ideology.

“Yes, the ignorance of history can be explained by the lack of consistent education on this subject. It is a problem of the education system. But the lack of knowledge cannot be tolerated by a chosen head of state, at least partially, on an explicit anti-fascist wave, supported by millions who voted to keep extremism.

It is necessary to clarify your position, quickly and publicly. Withdraw the ambiguities! The fact that you insist on sending back to Parliament “Vexler Law”, although the CCR will reject the arguments, doubled by the slippery statements about the “legionary organizations”, the ambiguity increases. We risk to believe that you play with the fire ”, continues Victoria Stoiciu.

“Mr. President, assume a firm conviction of fascism and legionaryism; without” but “, without” maybe “, without romantic rewriting. There is no room for nuances when it comes to legionaryism. Either you condemn it clearly or let history believe you took a step back. And we can't afford a step back.

It is a moral debt to those who have voted and supported you-and equally a major political emergency, ”the PSD vice-president said.

What Nicușor Dan replied, asked what his opinion is about the Legionary Movement

President Nicușor Dan announced on Friday that he will return to Parliament the “Vexler Law”, which provides for tougher penalties for promoting fascist and legionary symbols. The RCC rejected the notification of unconstitutionality filed by the president last week, but Nicușor Dan further argues that several articles are ambiguous and should be reformulated to avoid “tensions in society”.

On Monday, journalist Cristian Tudor Popescu mentioned, in a Facebook post, for a moment from the political podcast, in December 2024.

A few days after announcing his intention to run for the Presidency of Romania, Nicuşor Dan was asked, in a dialogue at Podcastul Hotspot, which is his opinion about the Legionary Movement.

Then, the president spoke about an association from Făgăraș “who deals with the promotion of resistance in the Făgăraș Mountains”, and “among the resistance members are some people who in the past were part of the Legionary Movement”.

“The Legionary Movement was … When it came to justify the killing of political opponents it became harmful (…) it was relatively quickly in its existence. At first (…) we must separate: indeed, including when their manifestations were xenophobic, it is something that is not allowed. The anti-Semitic manifestations should not be tolerated,” Ungureanu.