Latest news: Prefect, sub-prefects, also dismissed.
PM Florin Cîțu dismissed the USR PLUS state secretaries on Wednesday evening. The decision was published in the Official Gazette. While attending a Digi 24 show, Cîțu was asked when they will be removed from office, and the prime minister replied: “Tonight (Wednesday evening – editor note)”.
“When you negotiated with AUR and PSD, I can’t have state secretaries in ministries, because I don’t know what interests they will represent there, of AUR, of PSD“, Florin Cîțu said.
Regarding the directors supported by USR PLUS in decentralized institutions, Cîțu claims that they have won competitions and that the law will be respected.
“The law will be observed, but you can’t be with AUR and in a ministry, where you can have a negative influence“, Cîțu also told Digi24.
USR PLUS co-chairman Dan Barna explained why the USR PLUS secretaries of state and prefects did not resign, after the ministers resigned: “They are not voted by the Parliament. It is the right and the attribute of the prime minister to decide how to structure his Cabinet”.
However, the prime minister sent contradictory signals on Wednesday, also telling Digi24 that the ruling coalition can be still saved if USR PLUS withdraw the censure motion filed in Parliament against his Cabinet, arguing that USR standing next by AUR is toxic. “I didn’t think it is truly possible to see USR next to AUR, to see Barna begging PSD”.
On the other hand, PM Citu’s opponent for the PNL chairman position, the current chair Ludovic Orban told B1 TV last night that he will restore the coalition “in maximum 48 hours” if he is elected at the Congress on September 25.
On Thursday, the Government also dismissed the USR PLUS prefects and subprefect, by a government resolution. USR PLUS had 14 prefects and 28 sub-prefects. The duties of the dismissed prefects will be taken over by the sub-prefects in the county, with nobody else being appointed in those positions, PM Citu said.
Among the sacked prefects there is also the one in Bucharest, Alin Stoica.
USR PLUS also had prefects in such counties as Argeș, Brăila, Bacău, Tulcea, Vaslui, Harghita, Ialomița, Maramureș, Suceava, Timiș, Buzău, Galați and Gorj.
Moreover, PM Citu threatened that he will also ask the resignations of the Chamber Speaker Ludovic Orban (PNL) and of the Senare Speaker Anca Dragu (USR PLUS) is the Constitutional Court favors the Government on an alleged constitutional inter-institutional conflict on the censure motion issue.
Citu argued that the two dignitaries will have to step down of the Government wins at CCR.
Asked if he will attend the plenary session of the Parliament when the censure motion is read, the premier replied: “I won’t co-sign this kind of actions in the Romanian Parliament, abuses of the two speakers”.
As for the Chamber speaker, Liberal chairman Ludovic Orban, who accused that Citu’s camp for procrastinating the debate of the no-confidence vote, he delegated his duties as speaker of the Chamber of Deputies at the session held for reading the censure motion, to his Liberal colleague Florin Roman, who is vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies.