The interim leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Catalin Predoiu, declared on Wednesday, when asked whether the presence of Ilie Bolojan at a political event was moral, that he does not have the classic position of an elected head of state and there is a decision of the Constitutional Court (CCR) according to which the president has the right to express his political opinions.

„He is not an elected president, he does not have the classic position of an elected president, he is an interim president, he did not even lose his seat in the Senate and it is a completely different context, that is why I believe there is a major difference between the situation of a sitting president and the situation of an interim president”, stated Predoiu, at the Palace of Parliament, after the meeting of the PNL National Political Bureau.

According to him, there is a decision of the CCR according to which the head of state has the right to political opinions.

„I reiterate that the difference with the situation with President Basescu that you mentioned is major because it concerns two types of mandates, one is interim, and the other was a full mandate, if I’m not mistaken. Mr. Bolojan today expressed himself in a single sentence or maybe two, let’s say, extremely succinctly anyway, as a citizen. Thirdly, you should know that it is also valid for the situation in which Mr. Basescu was and in which Mr. Bolojan is today that you are mentioning – there is a decision of the Constitutional Court, I could not tell you its number, from around 2005 – 2006, if I’m not mistaken, which clearly states that the President of Romania has the right to an opinion, has the right to express his political opinions, has the right to „criticise even from a political point of view, that does not mean that it violates the Constitution,” explained Catalin Predoiu.

Interim President Ilie Bolojan was present on Wednesday at the program launch event of the governing coalition candidate Crin Antonescu.

„I am here as the interim president of Romania, but also as a citizen of our country. For two months since I have been exercising this function, I have understood, especially from within, that the president of our country needs three important things. He needs wisdom, to represent Romania with dignity abroad, so that we are a country of trust, a country of respect. He needs collaboration, because without collaboration between the two centers of power, which are the Presidency, the Government and the parliamentary majority, reforms cannot be made, infrastructure cannot be created, you cannot create conditions for prosperity,” said Bolojan.

According to him, a third quality that the country’s president must have is „to be a decent man”, who truly respects Romanians, who can regain trust in institutions and limit divisions in society.

„I understood these things from the inside and they are valid for whoever will be the president of Romania. And as a citizen I trust Crin Antonescu and I trust that he can be such a president”, Ilie Bolojan transmitted.

AGERPRES