Ciolos-Orban row: Ex-PM says Liberals are not reformed, PNL chair retorts that Ciolos’ attack does PSD a favour

Former PM Dacian Ciolos, founder of  Romania Together Movement and chairman of the National Liberal Party Ludovic Orban embarked on cross talk in the media.

Former technocrat premier Dacian Ciolos has criticised the National Liberal Party, saying in a Facebook post last weekend that the main parties on the Romanian political scene- PSD, PNL- represent an old political class, that do not want to reform and to take the country out of the poverty.

Ciolos stated that the Liberals are „stubbornly” refusing to reform and join his movement, Romania Together Movement (MRI), in a project of changing the Romanian society. Ciolos says that Liberals „are just waiting for the PSD to fall naturally so that they can replace it”.

MRI founder also pointed out that over the time there have been strange or inadequate alliances, while the politicians who established them won’t see that Romania had changed and the European and international background is different now.

„Unfortunately, I say it with regret. PNL is in the area of the old political class, stubbornly refusing to reform and to join us in a project of deep reform of the Romanian society, a project that focuses on well being. They are just waiting for the PSD to naturally fall and replace it. The experience of CDR in 1996 and DA Alliance in 2004 proved us this doesn’t work,” the former prime minister underlined.

PNL and Dacian Ciolos failed to reach an agreement on a potential candidature of the former PM on the PNL lists at the general elections in 2016.

In retort, PNL chairman Ludovic Orban said on Sunday evening that Dacian Ciolos’ attack against Liberals is strange and that it does a favour to PSD.

„There are accusation out of nowhere. This attack is very strange. PNL is bearing the brunt of the battle with PSD. Since I have been the party’s chairman, we have been in a hand-to-hand combat with the ruling coalition, a combat that is extremely tough for we are not fighting some democrat political parties that should enforce a ruling programme and enforce public policies in various fields, we are fighting a ruling coalition whose sole aim is to savage the Romanian state, the state institutions (…) This coalition has been trying to amend the justice laws for two years and they don’t succeed for a they come up against a wall built by president Klaus Iohannis and PNL. If someone saying it’s against PSD is attacking the main force that is fighting PSD it means they are doing a favour to PSD,” Orban replied.

He added that Ciolos’ statements are revealing „a potential hidden agenda”.

PNL chair also pointed out that Ciolos cannot fight PSD for „he has lived very well during PSD time”, reminding that the former PM has broken the deal with PNL to clean the public administration from the Social Democrats when he was premier.

At the same time, Orban said that Dacian Ciolos „hasn’t put up his nose” when PNL endorsed him for the prime minister position.