Virgil Popescu, after George Simion requested the protection of the SPP: “When you attacked me in the Parliament, you were not afraid. When you shouted that you were coming at my house, you were very brave”
Incident during the meeting occasioned by the reading of the simple motion of censure against the Minister of Energy, in the plenary session of the Romanian Parliament, February 7, 2022. Photo: Inquam Photos / Ilona Andrei
Former Energy Minister Virgil Popescu, assaulted in Parliament by the AUR leader in February 2022, reacted on Saturday after the AUR leader, George Simion, requested the protection of the Protection and Guard Service (SPP) for him and his family.
“Simeon, where did your courage go? When you assaulted me in the Parliament and forcibly entered the Ministry of Energy, you were not afraid. When you arrived in Severin and shouted that you were coming at my house, you were very brave. When I was coming from my daughter's wedding and you caused a scandal at the airport in Vienna, you were not ashamed. You shouted, pushed and posed in the 'voice of the people'”, he wrote Virgil Popescu in a post on Facebook.
“Your situation is a perfect paradox: the aggressor calls out “aggressors”. After years of living on scandal, inciting hatred and attacking the institutions of the state, you now find that hatred is returning. What is happening to you is a direct consequence of your own politics, a self-fulfilling prophecy,” added Popescu, who continued: “When were you 'good', Simioane? When you were hitting and threatening, and your supporters were sending death messages to my family? Or now, when you want to hide behind the SPP and play the role of the victim? You cultivated tension, caused fear and now you are suffocating in the smoke of your scandal.”
The former energy minister continued: “Courage is not required with an escort. Romania does not need politicians who turn aggression into a show and then demand protection from the state they have insulted.”
Several incidents took place between Virgil Popescu and George Simion over the last few years. The most famous was in February 2022, during the debate of a simple motion against the Minister of Energy. Amid Simion's shouting, Popescu said from the podium if he could send “Mr. Simion to Mr. Putin to make gas cheaper.” The AUR leader came to the stand, grabbed him by the collar and shouted “you're a thief”, at which point Popescu replied “you're a Russian”. The meeting was suspended.
George Simion requested SPP protection for himself, his family and AUR management
George Simion requested the protection of the Protection and Guard Service (SPP) for himself, his family and the AUR leadership, citing among other things the vandalism of the party headquarters and “death threats received”.
“I am officially asking for protection for myself, my family and my colleagues in the leadership of the AUR party,” said George Simion.
The day before, several messages against the party were written on the fence of its headquarters, while banners with the faces of Romanian rulers were partially cut, according to the recording posted on the formation's Facebook page.
“The facade of the party's headquarters was destroyed by individuals who signed themselves as part of the Antifa group, an organization in the process of being outlawed in the United States, being labeled by the Trump administration as “terrorist”, George Simion also stated.
