Ludovic Orban, on the president's plan after the fall of Bolojan: “Nicușor Dan is seriously wrong”
The former presidential adviser on domestic policy issues, Ludovic Orban, reacted after Nicușor Dan declared on Tuesday, after the dismissal of the Bolojan Government, that “we will have a new, pro-Western government, in a reasonable time” and that he ruled out early elections.
“Practically, the ball is in Nicușor Dan's court at the moment,” Ludovic Orban told Digi24, stressing that, with the start of consultations at Cotroceni, the responsibility of appointing the new prime minister rests exclusively with the head of state.
The leader of Forța Dreptei says that it is “very difficult” for him to anticipate the president's strategy, because the motion submitted by the PSD together with the AUR blew up any dialogue bridge with the PNL and the USR. Orban recalled that both right-wing parties have already officially decided not to collaborate with the social democrats in the government.
Asked if President Nicușor Dan could convince PNL to form a pro-Western government with PSD, Ludovic Orban said:
“The president is seriously wrong. PSD is not a pro-European, pro-Western, pro-democratic party. PSD is a retrograde party, of communist origin, corrupt to the core and which has criticized all the reforms in the current coalition, trampling the protocol and secretly collaborating in parliament with AUR.”
President Dan announced that he will start the consultations for a new government, relying on the fact that “there is a consensus of the pro-Western parties on the major directions of Romania”.
Orban believes that “the solution is very simple constitutionally”: “PSD has demonstrated that it has a majority. It must take responsibility for the government, with the AUR or whoever they want.” He also said that, if a possible PSD prime minister fails the investiture vote, only then could the president try to rebuild a right-wing coalition.
The censure motion initiated by PSD and AUR passed the Parliament on Tuesday with 281 votes “for”, over the threshold of 233 required to dismiss the Government. The cabinet led by Ilie Bolojan was thus removed from power, but remains interim until the formation of a new Executive.
