Dragnea says the EO 13 was not wrong, yet admitting it has affected the party’s image

Romanian Social Democrat Party chairman, Liviu Dragnea, admitted in an interview to Radio Romania Actualitati that the developments lately have seriously affected his confidence share among the population, yet he insisted that people haven’t rightly understood the Government’s intentions.

The latest opinion poll ranked Dragnea the fifth in the politicians’ confidence ranking. The PSD chairman ironically commented that “this owes to the very peaceful debates on ordinance 13”.

“As party chairman, you are politically discounting any criticism against the Government. It’s natural. You will never see me that, if the Government makes a mistake- which was not the case now- I will delimitate myself from the Government. I have invested confidence in this Government, the party has invested confidence and we’ll be solidary,” Dragnea told RRA.

He admitted that the scandal on the ordinance amending the criminal codes has “costs for the party”, but he kept on saying that the people have misunderstood the Grindeanu Gov’t intentions. “In terms of costs for the party, yes there were. But soon the truth will come out and people will understand that ordinance had no occult action behind, the interest of a group or of a man, but it intended to cover a law vacuum,” Dragnea argued.

Asked if the Executive took the decision to adopt the EO 13 with the party’s consent, Dragnea gave no clear answer, just hinting that the party was well familiar with this move.

“The Government did something good. I have repeatedly said, the justice minister and other colleagues have also repeated: <Attention! If the ordinance doesn’t come into force, some courts in Romania might consider the article on the abuse of office is not producing judicial effects anymore and will give acquittal sentences>. And it is already happening,” the SocDem chairman said.

He pointed out that if the EO 13 was let to come into force, we would not come to those rulings. “Moreover, the prejudices cannot be recovered anymore now”, he added.