One day ahead of the censure motion: PM Dancila, between threatens and promises. Two resigning MPs return to PSD

PM Viorica Dancila and the ruling Social Democrat Party have been accused of trying to bribe the lawmakers and mayors of the party with money and positions ahead of the vote on the censure motion. In a message in Facebook, PSD are talking about pay rises, vouchers and bonuses for the state employees.

“We in PSD guarantee the salary increase as of January 1, 2020 and January 1, 2021. We also guarantee vouchers and other bonuses for the state employees.

The opposition parties hate the state employees. They want to fire some, while cutting wages for others and take all their bonuses. They consider the state employees <are a mess> at their work”, reads the PSD post.

At the same time, PM Dancila has promised mayor more money through the Local Development Programme, yet denying it is a form of bribe or that she would have promised money to the mayors so that they can press on the MPs not to vote the censure motion.

“He who says that is irresponsible, to tell that the Romanian prime minister is promising money and positions (…) The Development and Investment Fund is enshrined in our ruling programme, it is no bribe”, she argued.

On the other hand, the head of the Executive has not ruled out the motion passes. She was recorded “under the table” while telling Social Democrats in a party meeting that the stake of this motion is represented by the corruption files, the special sections for investigating magistrates and by the procedure of nominating prosecutors.

“The stake is not necessarily the position of prime minister. The stakes are much higher, are related to files, to the Special Section, to appointing prosecutors. I hope you don’t want to return to.…”, Dancila would have told the PSD members, according to an audio recording released by Newsweek Romania.

Moreover, Dancila did not rule out that some SocDem members will betray the party cause, underlining they will be ousted from PSD.

In his turn, the Development minister Daniel Suciu is trying to lure PSD lawmakers with money coming from the National Local Development Fund, promising them they will be directly consulted regarding way these public funds will be divided.

It seems that both the PSD leaders’ threatens and promises have had measurable effects, as two of the PSD deputies who had announced they will join Pro Romania, Horia Nasra and Cornel Itu have returned to PSD, while announcing they will not vote the censure motion.

Sources within the ruling party revealed that Itu and Nasra would have been promised to take over the leadership of the PSD branch in Cluj in return for their comeback.

Some sources claim that one PSD MP has been promised EUR 1 million, while another one has been lured with the top position of Head of the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF).