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Liberal Orban: Right now, PNL is an annex of PSD; I will resign from PNL
Former PNL (National Liberal Party) chair Ludovic Orban announced on Monday that he is resigning from the PNL, mentioning that for him the party "died" and became a "wiping cloth for the PSD (Social Democratic Party) leaders."
"At the moment, the PNL is an annex of the PSD. Iohannis and the PSD leadership have led this historical party, the party with the richest history and tradition in the entire EU, in the situation of becoming a wiping cloth for the PSD leaders, in the situation of violating all the commitments made to the Romanians, of bringing back to power a toxic party against which I fought with all my might to remove from power. (...) Personally, I am in an extremely difficult situation where I need to switch with all my might to the opposition for I am against this toxic project for Romania. I will resign from the PNL and I will start a new project, which will continue to represent the citizens honestly, respectfully, with devotion, it will represent all those Romanians who truly believe in a development project for Romania," announced the former leader of the Liberals after the meeting of the National Political Bureau of PNL.
Orban added that the current PNL leadership has taken the party "to a dead end."
At the same time, two of the frontline leaders of the National Liberal Party outburst against chairman Florin Citu amid sealing the partnership with PSD for a new Cabinet. Raluca Turcan, also acting Labour minister and Liberal MEP Dan Motreanu have asked for Citu’s resignation, thus raising tensions inside the Liberal party.
Turcan accuses Citu of the detrimental manner in which PNL has negotiated the new Cabinet with PSD, also making him responsible that Romania will not have money for pensions and allowances, as the interim PM have taken it at the budget rectification.
“As a political” leader “of the PNL, you no longer have any moral authority, no ascendancy over the liberals who voted in Congress”, Dan Motreanu said in his turn, in a Facebook post.
“I consider that the negotiation team did not negotiate for PNL, but prepared a set and a roadmap for the turnkey delivery of PNL to PSD,” Turcan wrote said in a message to party colleagues. “First of all we embarked on the road with a lie, and a filthily manipulate vote. I don’t mean the vote at the Congress, but the vote through which we were attempting to negotiate with both parties. My vote and the others’ was used only to negotiate with PSD, and only to the benefit of a small group. It was a fraud on the colleagues’ vote”, she argues.
Raluca Turcan, who endorsed Citu for the PNL leadership, did not attend the meeting in which the agreement with PSD is voted. “From everything I read in the press, I did not see any political idea, of vision, from the negotiators of the party that we should see transposed in the political advantage of PNL! The PSD gave you homework every day, to which you react. Little is said that it has been negotiating on the knees. Florin Citu’s mandate was just a series of lies, mistakes and personal games. I’d say it’s pathological. Florin, can you imagine that no one catches your lies? Everyone gets caught, I guarantee you. NOTHING you have said so far, you, the party president, was not true! Just a series of lies. And not only of lies but also of lack of responsibility”, reads Raluca Turcan’s letter.
The Labor minister even accuses PM Citu of being “willing to play poker even the pension money”. “I have been catching up with you for more than a month and I tell you repeatedly that as of Friday (November 26) there is no more money for pensions and allowances because you took them to rectification just to give you good numbers in Facebook posts“, says Turcan.
“What have you done now? You begged to Ciolacu to seize a loaf of bread (…) In these negotiations, the party chairman has negotiated only for him. That’s it. Nothing else!!! The reasons? We’ll hear about them for sure. But with a too high price paid by the party (…) I concluded by saying that this moment is a shame for PNL and I think the PNL chairman should file his resignation, together with the negotiating team”, Turcan adds.
In retort, Citu asked Turcan to take the responsibility if there is no more money for pensions. “If Raluca Turcan had something to say she could come in the meeting today not to tell in mass media. She is the Labour minister. If there are no more funds, she’d better assume it”.
In his turn, MEP Dan Motreanu reminds of Citu’s anti-PSD position, which was forgotten in less than two months.
“Nowhere in this world can you violate so quickly and in such a profound way everything you have claimed and promised to be elected party president. It is not allowed! You can’t win the Congress with a strong program and message against PSD, you can’t build your political career just on this speech, exposed in an almost “hysterical” way during the Congress and then, after less than two months, you should be the one to to propose a government with PSD and to conduct negotiations not only for the crisis government with immediate, crisis measures, but to have negotiations on issues that separate us ideologically such as taxation, justice or constitutional visions. Even if at the moment it seems the only solution for a stable Government, as a political “leader” of the PNL you no longer have any moral authority, no ascendancy over the liberals who voted in Congress, because probably many voted for you even because you presented yourself anti-PSD in front of them, and, for this reason, a gesture of honor is required! ”, Motreanu posted on Facebook.
The PNL leadership has convened and voted the political agreement with PSD and to form the next ruling coalition next to the Social Democrats and UDMR by 29 votes in favor and 10 votes against, and 9 abstentions. 17 local leaders have not attended the meeting, among the absentees being Emil Boc, Gheorghe Falca, Ilie Bolojan, Nelu Tataru, Dan Motreanu or Raluca Turcan.
In the PNL meeting, Florin Citu would have also had reproaches against his party for choosing Nicolae Ciuca as PM designate. “We did what PSD wanted, that the PM should not be the PNL chairman! How did you thing it will all end? “, Citu reportedly said.