Save Romania Union (USR) first deputy chairperson Dominic Fritz said on Wednesday that USR will either be part of a government that will undertake reforms or will not be part of it, mentioning that the party still supports Elena Lasconi as a presidential candidate, with the formation of a stable government taking precedence over the presidential issue in the coming days.

„USR is aware of its responsibility. We understand that Romania is in a crisis and first and foremost in a crisis of democracy. We need to understand that this crisis of the democracy has two underlying causes and we need to address the two causes. The first cause, of course, is the danger of extremism and Russian interference that we have seen and we must do our utmost to defend the country, but the second cause is the fragility of democratic institutions that we have seen in recent weeks. We shouldn’t be in the situation we’re in. And that is why a government project in which USR would get involved can only be a project that defends us against interference, but which also strengthens the institutions that have suffered lately,” Dominic Fritz affirmed at the Palace of Parliament.

He also said that USR is going to the negotiations with the other parties „with an open heart”, but will only be part of a government that will undertake reforms.

„Therefore, I say very clearly that we are going into these negotiations with an open heart for Romania, with the courage to do what is necessary to put Romania back on a growth and democratic path, but the hard work is just beginning. So, I want to say very clearly that USR will either be part of a government that undertakes reforms or will not be part of the government. Now the teams have started this work of negotiating the government program, to see if we really have a common vision for what should follow, if all parties, as they said, have really understood the signal of the voters in the last weeks and, if this is the case, then we assume this co-responsibility for governing Romania,” said the USD first deputy chairperson.

Asked what the red lines of the government programme are, he said, „We are not talking about red lines”.

„What must be clear is that this government is assuming a cut on state spending, it must be clear that this government is assuming an administrative reform, it must be clear that this government is also assuming a reform of the institutions that has failed in recent weeks, this also includes a reform of the [intelligence] services, and it must be clear that this government is assuming a return to the citizens of Romania and somehow close the chapter in which some privileged have taken advantage of the resources of this country. These are the principles we are negotiating and in the end we will have to draw a line to see if there are enough things we have in common, enough reforms,” added Fritz.

In respect to the secret service reform, Dominic Fritz said that he personally expects „some changes, including at the personnel level, as a result of this failure”.

„We cannot continue as if nothing happened. Some presidential elections have just been canceled, an extraordinary, historic precedent, a great danger and, therefore, there must be consequences,” added the first deputy chairperson of USR.

Asked whether PSD should not come up with the proposal of Marcel Ciolacu as prime minister, Dominic Fritz said that „the important thing for USR is to have a government with a prime minister who will undertake reforms”.

„We are not entering now into this negotiation with red lines of persons or parties, but the important thing is that the final package is one that can convince the citizens of Romania that this government is not really running away from its responsibility to reform this country,” Fritz said.

He added that USR supports Elena Lasconi as a presidential candidate, but this issue should not be „settled today” between the parties.

„We believe that Elena Lasconi is the best-ranked pro-European candidate in the race, the most voted pro-European candidate. The fact that she could not run in the second round is not her fault. The elections were canceled for other reasons and that is why we believe that she should be back in this race. At the same time it is important to have a pro-European president. There is a decision of the USR Congress which supports Elena Lasconi, there is a vote on November 24 in which Romanians voted Elena Lasconi with the most votes among the pro-European candidates and of course we cannot just dismiss these things,” Dominic Fritz said.

Asked whether the other parties would also accept Elena Lasconi, he said: „I wouldn’t want to take these negotiations to the TV now”.

„We all committed to the fact that there must be a pro-European president. I would add a pro-European prime minister and a pro-European government. The form in which we can get this result, that is exactly what we need to discuss now, but these days the urgency is to form a stable government, which will undertake reforms and the presidential issue is not one that needs to be settled today,” Fritz said.

He added that the negotiations will see how to reach a consensus on this issue.

Regarding the support of a common candidate for the presidency from the pro-European parties, Dominic Fritz said that a consensus has not yet been reached on this issue.

„If we form a government, we form a real government, not a mock government,” said Dominic Fritz.

The pro-European parties – PSD, PNL, USR, UDMR and the Parliamentary Group of National Minorities – announced on Tuesday evening, at the end of the first round of political consultations, their commitment to a common government programme and their support for a possible common candidate for the presidential elections.

AGERPRES