Prime Minister Victor Ponta told private broadcaster Antena 3 on Sunday night that if a case in which the criminal prosecution procedure is initiated against him he cannot remain in the prime minister office, but voiced his hope that in 2015 the governments are not changed by ‘means of court.’
“If a case is built in which the criminal prosecution procedure is initiated against me, I cannot remain in the Prime Minister office, to sit each morning and explain how things are concerning the case. But I hope that in 2015 governments aren’t changed by means of court. I believe this thing won’t happen,” Ponta said.
In this context, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Chairman announced he would propose some statutory modifications in the National Council meeting of the party, establishing a “firm attitude” in the situations in which members of the Government or national and local leaders of the party are in various stages of some criminal investigations.
“More directly, I shall propose – if I have the necessary support, if not, I cannot pass these proposals – that all national and local leaders undergoing various stages of some criminal investigations automatically have a certain political responsibility, provided in the statute. Namely, if the initiation of a criminal prosecution procedure is asked against me or against a minister, I or he or she can no longer be in the Government. You are sent to court, you cannot occupy another office (…). Namely some things that are provided in the statute and are triggered automatically, which don’t mean in any case that if the criminal prosecution is initiated you are guilty (…) but (…) we want the PSD to give out this very clear signal that it has a firm attitude in such situations,” Victor Ponta explained.
He showed that some decisions to be made in the PSD National Council meeting will be “painful, but absolutely necessary.”
“I told my colleagues: I am ready to fight with the PNL, I am ready to fight just as we fought with Basescu, but I don’t want to fight with the public who expects this thing from us. A political party never fights with the public opinion. (…) If the public opinion says ‘you have this problem,’ then we must solve it, even if (…) some, in the end, will have to give up a public or political office, at least for a while,” Ponta maintained.
I don’t want PNL or Iohannis’ Government, it is not their from home, I want a Gov’t for Romania
Romania’s incumbent Prime Minister stated also that he does not want in the Victoria Palace a government of the National Liberal Party (PNL) or of Klaus Iohannis, but an Executive of Romania, adding that it a return of the Liberals to government happen following popular validation in the 2016 parliamentary elections.
“I want to make one thing clear. I don’t want another PNL Government or Klaus Iohannis’ Government, it is not theirs from home, I want a Government of Romania. We have tried in all these years – and we will keep doing it as long as I am at Victoria Palace – to be Romania’s Government, not the Government of… You know, Basescu too said that he wants his Government and you saw what happened when he got his Government. So, it’s best it be Romania’s Government”, said the Prime Minister, when asked of the PNL governing programme launch and the fact that Klaus Iohannis wants a Liberal Government and a different Prime Minister.
Ponta added that the Government of Romania he is leading following the 2012 elections has respected the promises it has taken over regarding recompleting the pensions and the salaries cut by the Government led by “Basescu, Predoiu and Boc” and added that a natural way for a future Government would be following the parliamentary elections of 2016.
“In that period, that Government, of which Mr Predoiu and others were part of, led, it’s true, by Traian Basescu directly and by others, was one man’s meat – with property restorations, business, Microsoft – and another’s poison. Whereas now I see that they are impatient to get back. To do the same thing again, haven’t you done it already? You know how it goes, fool us and steal from us once shame on them, fool us twice shame on us, if we let the same ones do it”, added the Prime Minister.
