National Liberal Party (PNL) President, Ludovic Orban, stated on Sunday for Digi24 that founding a new party by the former PM Dacian Ciolos would be “an uninspired decision”, since it would cause an additional fragmentation of the political spectrum outside PSD.
“It would be an uninspired decision from Mr. Ciolos to start building another party on the right side or in the non-PSD area. It would be an additional fragmentation” Ludovic Orban stated.
Being asked if there is any risk for a possible party founded by Dacian Ciolos to reduce the number of the PNL voters, Orban provided a negative answer. “I don’t think it would take votes from PNL. It may succeed to politically reactivate certain segments which are not very powerful in terms of numbers”, the Liberal estimated.
Regarding Ciolos’s entry in PNL, Orban said he didn’t invite him anymore, since there is already an invitation made. “He knows he is invited, so he can join PNL anytime” Orban stated.
The former PM Dacian Ciolos congratulated Ludovic Orban on June 17 for being elected as the PNL President, wishing him to be inspired in his “effort to strengthen this party around the values of the authentic Liberalism, which Romania needs so much”.
“I congratulate Ludovic Orban for being elected as the PNL President. I wish him a lot of luck and inspiration in the effort to strengthen this party around the values of the authentic Liberalism which Romania and the political scene need so much”, Dacian Ciolos wrote on Facebook.
Ludovic Orban stated at the Congress in which he was elected as President, that he will not accept any stranger to hold any position in which PNL can nominate “worthy” people from among Liberals, even if his name is “Dacian”.
“No stranger can be tenured on a position in which PNL can nominate and appoint worthy people from among PNL, even if his name is Dacian. And I am telling you one thing in this matter: there are thousands of Dacian Ciolos in PNL who, in their turn, weren’t so lucky as he was, to be supported as a Minister, as an European Commissioner, as a Prime-Minister, as a candidate for the PM from PNL, but he didn’t join PNL, he turned his back on us” Ludovic Orban stated.
“There is an obvious war between today’s leaders of Romania and the companies”
PNL President Ludovic Orban also stated on Sunday for Digi24 that there is “an obvious war” between the government coalition and the companies and investors, because the number of the people living on their own is increasing due to the latter, which is not the wish of the Social Democrats, since they are fighting against Romania’s economic development. Orban has pointed out that the turnover tax is “a calamity, a crazy thing” that will cause many investors to leave the country.
“There is an obvious war between those who are leading Romania today and the companies. Let’s remember – the Ordinance 13, the accusations against multinational companies who allegedly mobilized their employees to go and protest” Orban stated, mentioning that PSD wishes most of the people in Romania to live in poverty and in a lack of education and information.
“These voters become the captive voters that are voting for them. They know very well that any company that comes is risking its money in your country and brings an investment, creating jobs, generating added value, generating revenues for the budget, increasing the number of people living on their own (…) and there’s a deaf war which they are actually leading against the economic development of the country” Orban claimed.
In this regard, he pointed out that “the turnover tax is a calamity, a crazy thing”.
“It will have consequences which we cannot forecast today. Very many investors in Romania will relocate because they will not accept to pay the tax. They came here on a certain fiscal structure, on a certain cost determined by the paid fees and taxes (…) Dozens of thousands of companies will close their gates, because when you perceive a tax on the turnover, very many companies will have loss, and those who will not close their gates will take various measures to reduce their costs, and the first costs will be those related to the salaries. It will possibly cause massive job losses and breaking the companies’ development” Orban explained, stating that PNL will fight using all the legal and constitutional means to prevent such a tax to be implemented.
The head of PNL also wished to underline that there is a huge difference between what the Social Democrats told to the Romanian people when they asked for their vote in the winter, and what is found in the government program.
“They didn’t say any word in the campaign, about the tax on the households which they renamed now as the tax on the individuals’ global income, but it’s the same story with the tax on the household, meaning they will hunt chickens, cows, chickens’ eggs. They’ll try to perceive a tax for anything producing an income. They didn’t say any word in the campaign about the turnover tax, about the solidarity fee, about the madness of the new Finance Minister to dissolve the 2nd Pension Pillar” Orban stated, mentioning that, in his opinion, the 2nd Pension Pillar will be nationalized in the end.
He said that this would be “a disaster”.
“This is your money, this is my money with which we can get a pension supplement when we will have to retire. This means that this money will disappear from the economic circuit, because this money is invested” the PNL leader stated.
“Tudose Cabinet, the worst Gov’t since Revolution; they’re extremely strange people”
Previously, on Friday, Orban stated in an interview for Adevarul Live, that the Tudose Government is the worst Cabinet since the Revolution of 1989, and the current Prime Minister would have failed to qualify even for the position of office director during the Nastase Government.
“The worst Government since the Revolution. In fact, I could say that even the Dascalescu Government, from before the Revolution, was better than the Tudose Government. PSD’s standards have dropped below sea level. In the Nastase Government, Tudose wouldn’t have even qualified for the position of office director, not to mention that of minister. Let’s take another example. Mihai Fifor: he has nothing to do with the economy, how could you appoint him Economy Minister? How could you offend all people of culture in Romania by appointing at the Culture Ministry a man (Lucian Romascanu – editor’s note) who deals with the tabloid press, who is not even a consumer of culture. Not to mention “Doina, you lass,” who is back at the Environment [Ministry],” Ludovic Orban stated, referring to the Government’s current makeup.
The PNL leader said it would have been better not to have a Government at all than to have one in this formula, considering that half of the current Cabinet did not pass PSD’s internal assessment. “I believe we’re entering the Book of Records. PSD admits that the ministers were bad, but they’re ‘our bad,’” Orban said.
Asked if there is at least one minister who gives him hope, the PNL President answered: “Absolutely none. Moreover, you appoint at the Finances some guy (Ionut Misa – editor’s note) who says he dissolves Pillar II of the pensions. At the Communications [Ministry], there’s Hrebenciuc’s little pupil (Lucian Sova – editor’s note), who was business partner with a Russian spy. Precisely at the Communications [Ministry], where the Government removed the President, via OUG [Government Emergency Ordinance], from the procedure on appointing the leadership of ANCOM. This is a clear sign that they want to reorient the country toward the East. And I would also like to refer to [Defence Minister] Tutuianu, who was the lawyer of the Russians from Mechel. These are some extremely strange people who should be monitored very carefully.”
“Turnover tax – economic catastrophe, premeditated crime against companies”
PNL’s leader also stated on Friday that the introduction of the turnover tax represents an “economic catastrophe”, a “premeditated crime” against companies, which risks leading Romania into a new crisis.
“The turnover tax is an economic catastrophe, it is a premeditated crime against companies and will block Romania’s economic development over a long period of time. It virtually blocks any private investment. The turnover tax has many negative consequences, primarily hindering the use of own development resources and even sets up a negative incentive that will cause many companies not to grow, because as you increase your turnover, you pay more and practically you have no incentive to ensure development. The second consequence – companies with a small profit margin, because of the introduction of this tax, will incur losses. In my opinion, tens of thousands of companies will be closed down,” Orban said for Adevarul Live.
He added that some companies, in order to persevere, will cut costs, meaning they will pay employees less or dismiss them, so there will be job losses.
“A lot of companies currently operating in Romania will move out, capital usually escapes to areas where it has the greatest capacity to generate profit, we will assist the departure of many companies from Romania and also many of the companies that today are interested in investing in Romania will probably decide to invest in other countries in the area. (…) Overall, all economic engines will be gripped, economic stagnation will occur, we even risk entering a new economic crisis,” the PNL leader maintained.
He explained that deterring the enforcement of such a measure can only be carried out by “an exemplary mobilization of society”, of those who see that they risk becoming unemployed, business people at risk of seeing their work and their profits lost “at the stroke of a pen.”
