Grindeanu leaves open the possibility of supporting the Tomac Government, but sets conditions: without the “bankrupt Bolojan model”
Upon leaving the consultations with Eugen Tomac, Sorin Grindeanu declared that the social democrats agree with the calls for responsibility made by the designated prime minister, but do not support the continuation of the policies promoted by the former executive.
PHOTO: Screenshot
“We agree with Mr. Tomac when he says that Romania needs responsibility, not austerity. If this is the direction, we can discuss. If the solution is to continue the bankrupt Bolojan model, PSD cannot be part of this project. That's why we changed the Bolojan government, because it governed badly, because it governed, from an economic point of view, badly and led us to the situation we are in now“, declared the PSD leader.
According to Grindeanu, the PSD has “fell into a trap that Ilie Bolojan laid last year“. The PSD leader describes the trap as that of “austerity as the only model we can follow. Bad model. And this has to change“.
According to Grindeanu, the discussions with Tomac focused mainly on the economic and social measures that would be included in the government program.
The social democrats support the maintenance of the current level of taxes, support measures for Romanian companies, the protection of people with low and medium incomes, as well as the correction of measures regarding CASS for mothers on parental leave, veterans and people with disabilities.
Also, PSD requests VAT reduction for basic food and medicine and claims that future economic policies must support Romanian companies, without favoring multinationals.
The PSD will decide after the presentation of the governing program
Grindeanu stated that the party will not make a decision regarding the investiture vote until it sees the government program and the team proposed by Eugen Tomac.
“We expect that in the coming days he will come concretely with the governing program and the team, and we will convene a wider party forum to make a decision”, said the PSD leader.
He added that the discussion with the designated prime minister was one “applied on priorities and objectives” and that the social democrats are waiting to see if their proposals will be found in the final form of the program.
Reply to the idea of a government without party people
Asked about Eugen Tomac's intention to form a cabinet without members of the parliamentary parties in ministerial positions, Grindeanu stated that the PSD has already taken a step in this direction after leaving the government.
The social democratic leader claimed that the PSD no longer has prefects, sub-prefects or secretaries of state with political positions, as they resigned over a month ago.
At the same time, he accused PNL and USR of “hypocrisy”, claiming that the two parties talk about the opposition but keep their representatives in the administration.
“Today PSD has no prefect, sub-prefect, secretary of state. They all resigned. We are interested in governing for the people. It is hypocritical to say that you want to be in the opposition, but keep all your positions in the state. If they want to be in the opposition, let them resign: both prefects, sub-prefects, state secretaries, and state sub-secretaries from the PNL. The rest is hypocrisy,” he declared“, said Grindeanu.
Why didn't the head of state appoint Sorin Grindeanu as prime minister. The President: “Supported by whom?”
Why didn't PSD assume the government formation
Asked why the PSD did not try to form its own government, Grindeanu said that the party expressed its willingness to take on this responsibility before the president, but there is currently no clear parliamentary majority.
“At Cotroceni we said that we are ready to take on this role. His Lordship (not the President) asked if there was a clear majority made up of pro-European parties. As PSD cannot present a clear majority, neither can the others“, declared the PSD leader.
According to him, the social democrats did not reject the idea of forming an executive, but they could not demonstrate the existence of a stable majority to support such a project.
What Tomac said after the meeting
For his part, Eugen Tomac declared that he found “openness” from the PSD regarding the main objectives proposed by the future government.
The designated prime minister stated that the priorities discussed were the implementation of reforms, Romania's accession to the OECD, attracting funds from the PNRR, maintaining the deficit target and accelerating the digitization of the administration.
PHOTO: Inquam / Octav Ganea
Tomac has given assurances that he does not intend to increase taxes and fees.
“We will not raise taxes, we will not introduce new taxes. The government I propose will be extremely cautious and careful, so that Romanians will not feel new burdens or burdens“, he declared.
Consultations continue
The meeting with PSD was the third round of consultations conducted by Eugen Tomac on Tuesday, after the discussions with PNL and USR.
The prime minister-designate announced on Wednesday that he would continue negotiations with the UDMR, the group of national minorities, unaffiliated parliamentarians and other parliamentary groups in an attempt to gain the necessary support for the inauguration of the technocratic government he intends to propose to Parliament.
