Dragnea, Tariceanu say will not accept invitation from President Iohannis to December 1 parade

Social-democrat Chairman Liviu Dragnea has announced on Thursday he would not accept the invitation from President Klaus Iohannis to attend the December 1 national day parade, but he will attend another similar event.

“I will attend the parade. (…) Somewhere in the country. We’ll discuss this with the party and decide the best option. I do not accept the invitation from President Iohannis, as I do not believe in him,” Dragnea said at the Parliament Palace.

Senate Speaker Calin Popescu Tariceanu said on Monday he hasn’t received yet an invitation from the presidency to attend the parade and the reception on the occasion of December 1, if he received one he will not meet the invitation.

On Wednesday, President Klaus Iohannis said, referring to the invitation of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies Speakers at the December 1 parade, that the Romanians want good relations in the state’s leadership.

“Last year, indeed, I did not invite everyone, because I wanted to point out that there are people who have problems that are, in my opinion, very serious, but, at the same time, I have found out that Romanians always want good relations in the state’s leadership. This approach is not always possible, but this year, on the National Day, I’ve decided to invite people by office, by merit (…), if someone was elected MP, he has the merit to have convinced a large number of voters. So, on top of each other, we took the protocol list as it exists (…) and invited everyone,” President Iohannis said.