Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu on Sunday, in a message on Constitution Day, said that the Fundamental Law and Romania’s European path must be defended.

„This year, recent and ongoing circumstances, which we never thought we would witness again, have brought to the forefront situations where our country was asymmetrically attacked, and the integrity of an essential right – the right to vote – was influenced by state-of-the-art technological means, distorting a fundamental process for the correct and authentic expression of the people’s will. Especially in such moments, we must rely on our Constitution, our values, and our way of life, which were won by our ancestors through sacrifice and hardship. The Constitution must be defended, Romania’s European path must be defended, our membership in the European Union and NATO must be defended, the democratic values of our society must be defended, and the integrity of democratic processes must be protected when it is attacked, whether from within or from abroad, as recently happened,” the message reads.

Predoiu underlined that in such situations, when the Constitution is attacked, state institutions have the right and duty to intervene and make decisions „within the limits of constitutional powers and competences” to defend the Constitution and the citizens’ rights.

„There are times when it is not enough to declare our attachment to national values and assets on festive or anniversary occasions, but we must unhesitatingly take responsibility for defending them through actions and through institutions. A democratic state and democratic society act through institutions. These must be strong and determined, represented by those who form and represent them, whether elected or appointed according to the law, in situations when national assets and values, institutions, and, ultimately, the country and the people are attacked or undermined,” said the Interior minister.

He also warned that the necessity of reforming political institutions, including political parties, „cannot be used as an argument for promoting and spreading fascist-inspired theses, such as the dissolution of political parties and the political system.”

„The annihilation of the political system, in the name of an anachronistic populism, represents the classic trap laid for the people by any emerging dictator, by any ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing.’ The democratic political system must be continuously improved, and this is, first and foremost, the responsibility and obligation of politicians. However, the annihilation of the democratic political system, in the name of hypocritical and illusory political messianism, is not just a mistake, but a true betrayal of the people, the Constitution, and the country by those who promote such ideas,” Predoiu concluded.

AGERPRES