The revolt of the mayors. The mayors came to Bucharest. And they left. The conclusions after the meeting with Bolojan and Grindeanu
The atmosphere at the debate of the Association of Communes in Romania, which was also attended by leaders of the coalition, including Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, was charged with tension. A new contest of hard lines, whose winner is not clear, took place on Tuesday in the Parliament. By far, the prime minister was the main target of the arrows fired. But PSD president Sorin Grindeanu was not forgotten either.
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan was the target of criticism launched by local elected officials PHOTO Adevărul / Maria Dinu
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu participated on Tuesday, February 10, in the debate on “Administrative reform, the policy of reducing public expenses and their impact on Romanian municipalities”, organized by the Association of Romanian Municipalities, even during a demonstration strike held in over 1,500 town halls.
In front of the local leaders, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and the PSD president, Sorin Grindeanu, were harshly criticized by the mayors, who not only asked questions, but also drew harsh conclusions about the government's plans. The mayors present expressed their dissatisfaction with the arguments of the two, contesting the reform of the local administration, the manner in which it would be adopted, as well as the impact on the investments and staff in the town halls — especially in the context of the reductions imposed from the central level. Both Bolojan and Grindeanu were repeatedly interrupted by the criticisms and reactions of mayors dissatisfied with the direction in which the reform is going.
Bolojan and Grindeanu, the target of critics
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan told the mayors that “things in local and central administration will no longer be able to be as we were used to”. The alternative, in the absence of efficiency measures, is to reduce the number of communes, warned the leader of the Government.
“I would like us to have a salary law, where I can see salary increases where they should, but maybe we will also see salary cuts where they have gone overboard”stated the prime minister, causing reactions from the audience.
The coalition leaders came separately to the debates PHOTO Adevărul / Maria Dinu
The speech of the PSD leader, Sorin Grindeanu, was at the other extreme: “In the last period, they tried knowingly and with almost all means to demonize the Romanian mayor”, emphasized the president of the PSD, rejecting the “lump sum” cuts. He promised the local leaders that “no one will touch the funds intended for the communes”also indicating that “freezing investments would be an act of economic sabotage”.
Among the most applauded was the leader of ACoR, Emil Drăghici, who made several observations: “V– you have reported many times to the European Union, but why have you never said what the salary level is in Romania”, “you have done nothing but pack us up, one by one”, “the measures lead to the expulsion of young people again”.
The mayors mainly reproached the prime minister for the statements regarding the increase of local taxes, made just the night before, and accused him of the measures taken “on foot”.
“December is the month of gifts. It should have been done (no – tax adjustment) somewhere in May-June, so that the necessary calculations and computer applications could be made, but the Government is trying to give a gift in the month of gifts, by which it takes the money out of people's pockets, into the hands of the mayors, those many and stupid ones, who you said, not a few times, that they increased”, said Emil Drăghici, independent mayor of the commune Vulcana-Băi, supported by PSD in the elections.
“When I heard last night that you declared that the mayors are the ones who established the increased fees and taxes that the citizens cannot pay, I froze in my chair. I didn't know what to believe,” cried Mariana Gâju, mayor of Cumpăna commune, in Constanța county.
Not even Sorin Grindeanu escaped the mayors' shooting. The same independent mayor, Emil Drăghici, drew his attention to the fact that he is part of the decision-making process: “Everything you said is, of course, to the liking of everyone in the room. But if you will be asked by my fellow mayors, 'Well, me, you don't like the measures, but don't you vote together'?”
What did the local elected officials leave with from the meeting with the coalition leaders
I spoke with several mayors who came to Bucharest to support their claims in discussions with government representatives. Some emphasized the need for investment at the local level, others drew attention to the money collected from fees and taxes. Many have warned that as the end of the mandate approaches, it will become clear what was promised and what was achieved.
“I came here today to have a local public administration, normal and decent, for the benefit of the community and the citizens of our communities. (…) When I say normality, I say that we must have water, we must have sewage, we must have natural gas, streets modernized by asphalting, lighting, medical centers, cultural centers, educational centers, sports centers. We have projects. All those projects require co-financing”explained for “Adevărul” Costel Iosub (PSD), mayor of Tătăruși commune, in Iași county, for over 20 years.
The mayor of another municipality, Paul Nursa, drew attention to the misunderstandings regarding the collection of local taxes: “The real problem is not just the level of taxes, but the fact that the taxes and fees collected stay at the local level, where the needs are greatest! Otherwise, we are correcting decisions made at the center also on the backs of local administrations”.
“We represent more than 9 million inhabitants of Romania and we engaged in electoral campaigns, in everything we did, that we will ensure them a better life, a quality of life and many things will not be able to be achieved, many projects will stagnate. (…) the biggest mistake is to stop investments”said the mayor of Fărcaş commune, Ioan Stegerea.
“We were forced to implement the Government's order to increase these fees and taxes”, complains another mayor.
“We hit a wall”
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan stated that he supports the possibility for town halls to reduce local taxes to the basic level, if they have been increased above this ceiling. He also emphasized that the additional revenues from collected fees and taxes remain at the disposal of local communities, to be used in their interest.
Despite the assurances from the center, the city officials did not seem too confident. “We hit a wall. I saw two antagonistic speeches, by Mr. President Grindeanu, who said and understood that the local administration needs, not help, normality to continue what we started. And on the other side I saw that unshakable rock from Prime Minister Bolojan”. explained the mayor Costel Iosub.
Another dissatisfaction indicated by the mayors we talked to is the lack of commitment and coherence in the decisions of the leaders at the center, who fail to reach a common denominator. “Unfortunately, even today we witnessed a ping-pong of statements between the two leaders, which only deepens distrust in the central administration. Instead of clear and assumed decisions, we see passes of responsibility, and this is immediately felt in the territory.” shows one of the mayors.
“According to the prime minister's unwavering position, things will improve a bit. He is under pressure from all sides and the easiest way is to attack the administrative units, the mayors, we are not magistrates”. concludes another mayor.
For the time being, the mayors will return home, however, “if this way of doing politics continues, the effects will inevitably be seen in the 2028 elections, when the accumulated discontent risks turning into a wave of sovereignism that will sweep everything”warns Paul Nursa, the mayor of Plugaru commune.
