Romanian President asks politicians to behave responsively

President Traian Băsescu asks politicians to behave responsively and makes a new call for truce in Parliament.

The president attended the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, where he pleaded for the adoption of necessary laws in order to emerge from economic crisis and drew attention that Romania is often labelled as a country that cannot be reformed.

Traian Băsescu moved on to criticize the justice system, which, in his opinion, creates laws instead of applying them.

First of all, president Traian Băsescu accused politicians of being guilty of lack of modernization of the state and putting personal interests above national ones.

The head of state believes that a country which expects development, but spends most of the public money on wages and social protection, has no perspective in offering prosperity.

The president reminded that during the economic growth and the real-estate boom, politicians would only have thought of increasing salaries, pensions and public spendings.

According to Traian Băsescu, the government must take efforts to modernize the state, no matter what the political costs might be. The president also voiced his full support for Prime Minister Emil Boc’s efforts.

An example of lack of responsibility from politicians is, in the president’s opinion, the delay of the adoption of the pension law.

Traian Basescu admits that, because of the opposition’s accusations of fraud when voting the pension law in the Deputy Chamber, the president searched for an article in the bill in order for the Parliament to re-analyse it.

It is the article referring to women retirement age.

'With all the decisions made by the Constitutional Court, their only concern was that article. All laws have been analysed article by article, of course, to further delay the adoption of the bill. Now I regret giving the Parliament the opportunity to make proof of irresponsibility, once again', said the president.

'A law on education would reform the system'

Another issue approached by Traian Băsescu in his speech at the Bucharest Stock Exchange was the education law.

He takes for legitimate the Government’s attempt to promote this law, which, according to the president, would reform the system.

On the other side, Traian Băsescu also wanted to draw attention that judges, or the Constitutional Court, create laws instead of applying them.

“The law had already passed through Parliament, salary reduction was established, incomes were about to be reduced by 25%. A judge is not entitled to dictate laws. This puts us in a very difficult situation. We encounter severe credibility issues and the proof of that is the lack of reliance when borrowing money and also the high interest rates”, said Traian Basescu.

Traian Băsescu said that, economically speaking, Romanians are used to living in the exaggerations of capitalist ideas. In Traian Băsescu’s opinion, it would be a serious problem to continue spending the funds received from external sources, instead of investing them.

Translated by Mihaela Grigoraş and Andreea Velicu
MA Students, MTTLC, Bucharest University