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The leaders of PSD, PNL, UDMR and national minorities discussed on Monday the creation of a joint government program, while USR representatives were absent from the meeting. In a statement sent after the meeting, they said they could form a government without USR being part of it.
“The leaders of the pro-European alliance met this evening and continued discussions on the creation of a joint government program based on the principles set out in the agreement signed by the component parties. We believe that the creation of the government program is the fundamental priority of this alliance, therefore, today a set of major reforms was discussed that are to be finalized and publicly communicated in the coming days until the convening of the new Parliament,” the PNL said in a press release.
The alliance representatives took note of the fact that, for the second time, USR representatives decided not to attend a previously scheduled meeting of the pro-European coalition, although all participants – PSD, PNL, USR, UDMR and the National Minorities Group – had already agreed not to discuss the distribution of political positions for the time being, the statement said.
“PSD, PNL, UDMR and the National Minorities Group have the necessary votes to form a Government and a parliamentary majority even in the event that USR decides to no longer be part of this coalition. However, we believe that achieving the broadest possible pro-European majority would be in the national interest,” the PNL press release states.
The parties present at the meeting also reconfirmed the decision to have a single candidate of the pro-European alliance for the presidential elections, according to the document sent to the press.
Representatives of the four parties negotiating the formation of a governing coalition (PSD, PNL, USR and UDMR) were scheduled to meet at Victoria Palace at 6:00 p.m. According to political sources, today’s meeting was called to determine which ministries belong to each party, but USR announced that it would not participate.
The USR decided on Monday not to discuss the distribution of positions in a new government without a plan to get Romania out of the deep state budget crisis, Elena Lasconi showing that they do not distribute positions to politicians before agreeing on solutions for the prosperity of Romanians and that as long as there is whispering about tax increases, but not about real reforms that would reduce state spending, we cannot start measuring the curtains in the ministries. The party says that the current Minister of Finance, Marcel Boloş, came this morning with a series of contradictory figures at the Government meeting and spoke about tax increases, not cuts in state spending.
“USR believes that the reforms that must be made by the new government, as well as a fair budget to support them, are important, not the distribution of functions and portfolios. It is absurd to discuss the names of ministers before we have a serious government program. We are not putting the cart before the horse”, the political party’s press release states.
“As long as there is whispering about tax increases, but not about real reforms that would reduce state spending, we cannot start measuring the curtains in the ministries. This is not the time for bargaining! The message of the Romanians in the elections was clear. They do not want continuity in the state’s debauchery, but the parties’ commitment to change direction in order to truly put the state at the service of citizens. It seems that the old politicians did not understand the message of the Romanians. Politics is done for people, not for positions and power. We cannot achieve other results by doing the same thing we have been used to for 35 years. We cannot continue with the same irresponsible policies that brought us to the social and economic crisis we are in today,” said USR President Elena Lasconi, at the end of the National Bureau meeting, according to the press release.
The cited source states that USR requested all data related to the current budget execution, as well as the draft of a realistic budget for 2025, as the basis for the reforms that the Romanian state needs, as early as 5 days ago.
“The current Minister of Finance, Marcel Boloș, came this morning with a series of contradictory figures at the Government meeting and spoke about tax increases, not cuts in state spending. We cannot agree that all tax-paying citizens should bear the brunt of the wrong decisions made by the parties that meet at 6:00 PM to divide up positions. USR insists that before determining what the new government looks like, the governing program and the measures that will affect every family in Romania should be established and expects total transparency from the discussion partners. USR reaffirms its willingness to continue discussions about a governing program based on reforms and an honest budget, cutting waste and unnecessary spending,” the statement added.
The leader of the USR deputies, Ionuţ Moşteanu, announced on Tuesday that the party remains at the table of discussions to be part of the future coalition, but believes that the measures to be adopted and the available budget must first be established. Moşteanu added that the division of “governmental responsibilities” can only be done after the discussions on the government program.
Ionuţ Moşteanu stated that USR found during Monday’s discussions with pro-European parties that “there was a lot of discussion about potential tax increases, possible freezes of other increases, nothing was said about reducing the Romanian state’s spending that has increased year after year”.
“Campaign statements do not just stay in the campaign, they have to happen, it is a sign of respect for every Romanian who voted in these elections.” USR remains at the table of discussions to participate in the future coalition, the leader of USR deputies stated. “We are still in discussions for the government program, my colleagues will resume these discussions after the Plenary, at 1:00 p.m. Finally, after we agree on the measures, after we discuss the budget, we start discussing the division of government responsibilities. Somehow, the governing partners are in a hurry and would have wanted to make this division yesterday evening, we are not putting the cart before the horse,” Ionuţ Moşteanu also declared.
USR representative Radu Mihaiu also told Digi 24 a day ago, that his party will participate on Tuesday in the discussions with the other parties regarding the government program and the list of reforms to be implemented, and the party’s refusal refers only to the discussions regarding the division of ministries and the nomination of people before clearly establishing the list of measures that the future government will have to take.
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