Social Democratic Party (PSD) national leader Marcel Ciolacu on Monday said that the electoral alliance with the National Liberal Party (PNL) for the June 9 elections decided to further ensure „the stability of the governing coalition in real time,” given that „Romania needs decision making, it does not have time for political instability.”

His statement was part of an interview with Antena 3 CNN private broadcaster when asked how the electoral alliance between PSD and PNL came about, which „to many might be against nature.”

„These are not necessarily the most important elections for Romania. They are, from my point of view, the most important European elections for Europe. It is obvious that most of the bill for the war in Ukraine came to Europe: economic crises, this phenomenon of extremism, populism can be found first and foremost in Europe… this wave of inflation, the energy crisis. They all came after the pandemic; the war came afterwards. Definitely, the war did not come by chance after the pandemic, the moment was very well prepared and chosen. There is a governing coalition. I (…) Elections are in the middle of the year, on June 9. The term would run until December, when the general election is held. I know, and so do you and your viewers, that you could not make choices in the last six months, I mean early elections in the last six months of the end of the term of office. And then I talked to my colleagues from the National Liberal Party, my coalition colleagues, we all tried to overcome any kind of political pride, first of all for a current political stability. Everyone talks about the future, about common candidates, about joint tickets, about how PSD and PNL will govern Romania – 10 years, 5 years – everyone gives their opinion,” said Ciolacu.

He added that the fact that political egos were overcome contributed to the establishment of the electoral alliance between the two parties.

„First of all, we overcame pride, political pride. Secondly, we did not make any exact measures on how to get votes or as many MEP seats as possible. Obviously, in politics, one and one don’t make two. It is possible that the two parties, if they had gone separately, would have had an extra MEP seat. But, once again, we had first and foremost the duty to stabilise a governing coalition in real time. Romania needs decision making; it does not have time for political instability, when we negotiate Schengen, when we negotiate visas to America, when we negotiate OECD, when we negotiate parts of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and projects such as I have at request number three, with micro-enterprises. There are things happening in real time. We would have gone to a total war, as has always happened in Romania, with that negative vote, because for 30 years the negative vote has been compelling. I am voting against someone, not for something. And we came, from this governing coalition, we came out with an electoral alliance. Romanians will decide what the two parties do.”

He also mentioned his collaboration with national leader of PNL Nicolae Ciuca.

„I am communicating with President Nicolae Ciuca, and we are trying to make decisions in real time (…) Romania lacked decision making for too long, of political commitment, and political leaders spent too much time looking at results, figures, percentages and usually that did not lead to winning elections, it led to us losing them.”

AGERPRES