How will the struggles at the level of the Government in the territory be illustrated: “For any position, you must receive an agreement from the party leader”
The crisis that the parties are going through also has repercussions at the level of local administrations and among the main criticisms brought in the recent PNL meeting were staying in government, the continuation of the projects started through the PNRR and the fact that local leaders will continue to work with those from the PSD, with whom they were not always in agreement.
Constanta County Council. Photo: CJ Constanta
The measures and reforms promoted by Ilie Bolojan were not popular among the local leaders, which also led to the vehement reactions of the mayors and presidents of county councils from the PSD, but they were not received without criticism in the PNL either.
Capital and Ilfov, political battlefield
A first case of forced labor in the following period is in Capital and Ilfov. Following the successive elections, mayor Ciprian Ciucu must work with PSD mayors Daniel Băluță, Rareș Hopincă and Robert Negoiță, who announced himself as a supporter of Ilie Bolojan in this dispute.
“I have the feeling that this time has not passed in vain. Some things have happened, I understand that there is a chance that there will be a little cleaning in these state companies that generate losses every year and also, all of them are political clients and so on. I think they deserve a little support at least for this matter, to do these things, to solve them with reforms”said Robert Negoiţă (PSD), on Tuesday, in a post on Facebook.
On the other hand, the PNL president of the Ilfov County Council asks the prime minister to consider re-sitting with the PSD. One reason may also be the fact that, following the 2024 elections, the PSD-PNL alliance has 57.6% of the votes for CJ Ilfov, and the liberal Hubert Thuma won a new mandate.
And the mayor of the municipality of Iași, Mihai Chirica, former PSD member, currently PNL, has the same speech.
“Romania is going through a moment of crossroads, and the responsibility that PSD and PNL have before the citizens is huge. Regardless of their doctrines, these two parties have the moral and political duty to govern effectively in order to overcome the economic and social crisis that is pressing us.
Unfortunately, we see how recently the public space has become the scene of an aggressive dialogue, marked by harsh terms and sharp retorts.”he posted on his Facebook page.
Hubert Thuma, president of CJ Ilfov. PHOTO: Facebook
The “Moment of Truth” campaign forced harsh statements
In 2024, the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party won most of the counties and major cities in the country. PSD obtained leadership of 25 county councils, especially in the region of Moldova and Muntenia, and PNL obtained leadership in ten other counties, most of them from Transylvania, Iasi County, Ilfov and Constanța. The recent campaign in which local PSD leaders were encouraged to post under the slogan: “So far! Enough”, also provoked reactions from the PNL, USR or UDMR leaders, with whom they were in local alliances.
“PSD Maramureș met today, at the Millenium Hall in Baia Mare. Why this decision? Because the reality in Romania can no longer be ignored: the economy is falling, with risks of recession, inflation and costs have increased, investments are decreasing, companies are closing, the standard of living is affected, especially for young people, pensioners and the vulnerable categories.
At the same time: money is taken from mothers, pressure is put on pensioners and vulnerable people, decisions are made without real dialogue in the coalition”wrote Gabriel Zetea, president of the CJ Maramureș.
Without PSD's support, PNL leaders will also be in a position to renegotiate a majority in fragile local or county councils. The PSD is in the same situation.
The mayor of Buzău declared that the way the campaign was organized forced the hand of the local elected officials. Constantin Toma stated that he spoke with mayors of communes, who told him that they did not agree that the party's IP address and, therefore, the voter's identity were known.
Asked why the PSD people are afraid, Constantin Toma said that “for any position, you must receive an agreement from the party leader and the party leaders from Bucharest”according to digi24.ro.
Projects that could be delayed or blocked
From the awarding of contracts to large infrastructure projects, highways or new hospitals, the quarrels between the PNL and the PSD in the country could delay compliance with the PNRR milestones or some financed with funds from the Government.
Nicușor Dan also gave assurances on this topic, who declared on Monday, April 20, that the two parties are in agreement on the big projects.
“We still have a lot to do to make sure that by the end of August we finish everything well, from big infrastructure projects and hospitals to complicated but long-awaited reforms in energy, public payroll, justice, corporate governance and others”announced the president in a post on Facebook.
