Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan on Tuesday said that he has a ‘proper and respectful’ working relation with President Nicusor Dan, adding that when holding a position of great responsibility, one does not act ‘based on emotion and feelings’.
‘When you hold a position of great responsibility, you do not work based on emotion or sentiment, and that’s what we must all do: myself, the president, and all other senior officials with important areas of responsibility in Romania. We must do what is right for our country, and we have a proper and respectful working relation,’ Ilie Bolojan said on Antena 3 CNN, in response to a question about whether President Nicusor Dan irritates him when he proposes amendments to reform packages.
When asked how he would rate his relationship with the head of state, Bolojan replied: ‘I’ve said before: my relationship with the President is a proper one, an institutional collaboration, a relationship where each of us has certain responsibilities, where we consult on shared matters and where we collaborate.’
‘I don’t want to grade this relationship because, from my point of view, it wouldn’t be relevant. In order for Romania to achieve the best possible outcome, under the given circumstances, in any situation, there must be such a relationship between the President and the Prime Minister. Otherwise, consider this: we cannot project convergence, unity, or seriousness externally. The President represents Romania at the European Council, but at the same time, it’s the Government that must implement the commitments made by the President there. Therefore, this fair play and cooperation are necessary – something I’ve tried to build both during my time as interim president and now in this role, having seen both sides,’ the Prime Minister added.
Asked whether it was true that President Nicusor Dan had given him a test at the Cotroceni Palace regarding the impact of job cuts in local government, and that he didn’t know the answer, the Prime Minister said: „This is one of the fake stories that crop up from time to time – it has no basis in reality.’
Regarding reports suggesting he might resign as Prime Minister to run for Mayor of Bucharest, Ilie Bolojan said that such claims ‘are part of the pseudo-news circulating in newsrooms in the absence of more serious matters.’ AGERPRES
