Scandal in PNL. Two Liberal leaders slam chairman Florin Citu, ask for his resignation

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Two of the frontline leaders of the National Liberal Party outburst against chairman Florin Citu amid sealing the partnership with PSD for a new Cabinet. Raluca Turcan, also acting Labour minister and Liberal MEP Dan Motreanu have asked for Citu’s resignation, thus raising tensions inside the Liberal party.

Turcan accuses Citu of the detrimental manner in which PNL has negotiated the new Cabinet with PSD,  also making him responsible that Romania will not have money for pensions and allowances, as the interim PM have taken it at the budget rectification.

“As a political” leader “of the PNL, you no longer have any moral authority, no ascendancy over the liberals who voted in Congress”,  Dan Motreanu said in his turn, in a Facebook post.

“I consider that the negotiation team did not negotiate for PNL, but prepared a set and a roadmap for the turnkey delivery of PNL to PSD,” Turcan wrote said in a message to party colleagues.

“First of all we embarked on the road with a lie, and a filthily manipulate vote. I don’t mean the vote at the Congress, but the vote through which we were attempting to negotiate with both parties. My vote and the others’ was used only to negotiate with PSD, and only to the benefit of a small group. It was a fraud on the colleagues’ vote”, she argues.

Raluca Turcan, who endorsed Cîțu for the PNL leadership, did not attend the meeting in which the agreement with PSD is voted. “From everything I read in the press, I did not see any political idea, of vision, from the negotiators of the party that we should see transposed in the political advantage of PNL! The PSD gave you homework every day, to which you react. Little is said that it has been negotiating on the knees. Florin Câţu’s mandate was just a series of lies, mistakes and personal games. I’d say it’s pathological. Florin, can you imagine that no one catches your lies? Everyone gets caught, I guarantee you. NOTHING you have said so far, you, the party president, was not true! Just a series of lies. And not only of lies but also of lack of responsibility”, reads Raluca Turcan’s letter.

The Labor minister even accuses PM Citu of being “willing to play poker even the pension money”. “I have been catching up with you for more than a month and I tell you repeatedly that as of Friday (November 26) there is no more money for pensions and allowances because you took them to rectification just to give you good numbers in Facebook posts“, says Turcan.

“What have you done now? You begged to Ciolacu to seize a loaf of bread (…) In these negotiations, the party chairman has negotiated only for him. That’s it. Nothing else!!! The reasons? We’ll hear about them for sure. But with a too high price paid by the party (…) I concluded by saying that this moment is a shame for PNL and I think the PNL chairman should file his resignation, together with the negotiating team”, Turcan adds.

In retort, Citu asked Turcan to take the responsibility if there is no more money for pensions. “If Raluca Turcan had something to say she could come in the meeting today not to tell in mass media. She is the Labour minister. If there are no more funds, she’d better assume it”.

In his turn, MEP Dan Motreanu reminds of Cîțu’s anti-PSD position, which was forgotten in less than two months.

Nowhere in this world can you violate so quickly and in such a profound way everything you have claimed and promised to be elected party president. It is not allowed! You can’t win the Congress with a strong program and message against PSD, you can’t build your political career just on this speech, exposed in an almost “hysterical” way during the Congress and then, after less than two months, you should be the one to to propose a government with PSD and to conduct negotiations not only for the crisis government with immediate, crisis measures, but to have negotiations on issues that separate us ideologically such as taxation, justice or constitutional visions. Even if at the moment it seems the only solution for a stable Government, as a political “leader” of the PNL you no longer have any moral authority, no ascendancy over the liberals who voted in Congress, because probably many voted for you even because you presented yourself anti-PSD in front of them, and, for this reason, a gesture of honor is required! ”, Motreanu posted on Facebook.

The PNL leadership has convened today and voted the political agreement with PSD and to form the next ruling coalition next to the Social Democrats and UDMR by 29 votes in favor and 10 votes against, and 9 abstentions. 17 local leaders have not attended the meeting, among the absentees being Emil Boc, Gheorghe Falcă, Ilie Bolojan, Nelu Tătaru, Dan Motreanu or Raluca Turcan.

At the same time, PNL validated the list with their future ministers:

  • Justice ministry: Cătălin Predoiu
  • EU Funds – Dan Vîlceanu
  • Energy- Virgil Popescu
  • Interior- Lucian Bode
  • Foreign Affairs- Bogdan Aurescu
  • Education- Sorin Cîmpeanu
  • Digitalization – Florin Roman
  • Tourism and SMEs- Constantin Cadariu.

Initially Alina Gorghiu and Iulia Scântei have been rumoured for the Justice ministry, but in the end it was decided that Cătălin Predoiu return to the Justice ministry.

In the PNL meeting, Florin Citu would have also had reproaches against his party for choosing Nicolae Ciuca as PM designate. “We did what PSD wanted, that the PM should not be the PNL chairman! How did you thing it will all end? “, Cîțu reportedly said.

Ludovic Orban to resign from PNL

Moreover, in an expected move, the former PNL chair Ludovic Orban announced he will resign from party after they had voted to join the ruling next to PSD.

“PNL is dead to me starting today. It is true, it is in bed with PSD. He who imagines that PNL will be able to rehabilitate itself in people’s eyes is a big naive”, Orban said.

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