Prime Minister Florin Citu said on Thursday that he had discussed with President Klaus Iohannis his conviction in the United States, adding that the chief of state did not reproach him of not telling him about that predicament.
On a TVR 1 show on Thursday, Citu was asked if the president had reproached him of not coming forward about his conviction in the United States 21 years ago.
“No. We talked about it and that’s it. There was no reproach,” Citu replied.
Citu was also asked if he felt encouraged by the president in the campaign for the PNL national leadership.
“President Klaus Iohannis has been more of an inspiration to me. No. Encouraged, of course, because I have a good relationship with the president, and it has been seen as an inspiration for the way he has chosen to do politics in Romania. After years of having a certain kind of old politician and president, he came and changed the image of the presidency, but also the way politics is done in Romania, that’s why I said that he is an inspiration to me,” the prime minister said.
On the other hand, he criticised the fact that members of the National Liberal Party (PNL) seem to have taken over the rhetoric of the opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD).
“There will always be criticism, and PSD is full of criticism. What is sad is witnessing how the rhetoric of PSD is taken over by some of my PNL colleagues; sad!” said Citu.
None of my colleagues from USR PLUS will ever come against Romania’s development
Prime Minister Florin Citu on Thursday evening said, regarding the approval of the “Anghel Saligny” National Investment Programme, that none of his colleagues from USR PLUS (Save Romania Union – Freedom, Unity, Solidarity Party) will ever come against Romania’s development.
Asked during a broadcast at the national television channel TVR 1 if he had reached an agreement with USR PLUS regarding the “Anghel Saligny” programme, Florin Citu said: “This coalition resulted after several years of an electoral campaign during which we fought for the same electorate. I know my colleagues from USR and none of them will ever oppose Romania’s development. I saw them during the negotiations for the PNRR (National Resilience and Recovery Plan) coming up with all kinds of special programmes meant to help the local communities. With money from the budget. They want to implement all kinds of social systems to help those in need.”
He said that he agreed, at the last meeting of the governing coalition, with all the criteria proposed by the President of the Senate, Anca Dragu.
“I agreed at the previous coalition meeting with all the criteria proposed by the former Minister of Finance Anca Dragu, the incumbent President of the Senate, and I believe that she is one of the figures with enough authority in the USR PLUS to set criteria, and I agreed with all those criteria that Mrs Anca Dragu came up with. The way I see things, there should be no more divergences and we should approve the “Anghel Saligny” plan next week,” said the Prime Minister.
