President Iohannis took a bike ride in Bucharest on Monday evening and criticized the traffic jam in the city.
“I noticed Bucharest is beautiful in the spring, but the traffic is insane regardless of the season and weather. Some very serious improvements of the traffic infrastructure are required. I would like to see more people walking or riding a bicycle. It took me three minutes from my residence up to here,” said the president in the Arch of Triumph area.
Bucharest mayoress, Gabriela Firea had a harsh retort, saying this traffic issue is not new and that Bucharest cannot be compared to Sibiu, which “only has 150,000 inhabitants, like half of one of Capital’s districts”. Moreover, she ironically commented that maybe the President would like a ‘job switch’ with her.
“I appreciate Mr. President Klaus Iohannis is using the bike, I hope not only for this purpose to meet the press at the Arch of Triumph, for me and my family also use the bicycle. It’s regrettable the way the President, as former mayor of Sibiu, is making such statements, like a person who doesn’t now the local public administration from inside(…) There are complex issues and they cannot be ironically tackled, in passing, while riding the bike (…) Using the same note as the President, you know there is a famous TV show in Romania <The Mom Switch>. I understand Mr. President would like a job switch, so that he should come to the City Hall and me at the Presidency?” Bucharest mayor told Romania TV.