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Tag: Prime Minister Victor Ponta

  • Deputies Reject Call for the Prosecution of PM Victor Ponta

    Deputies Reject Call for the Prosecution of PM Victor Ponta

    Charged with
    conflict of interests while in office, PM Victor Ponta retained the immunity
    that he benefits from, as a Deputy. 231 of his fellow MPs, members of the
    ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party, the Conservatives, the
    National Union for the Progress of Romania and the Reformed Liberal Party,
    voted against the request filed by anti-corruption prosecutors, and only 120
    MPs, from the opposition, voted in favor. The result came as no surprise. Ever
    since Friday, when the National Anti-corruption Directorate announced its
    decision to prosecute Ponta, members of the Social Democratic Party and of the
    Government have voiced their solidarity with and loyalty for a prime minister
    that they see as the victim of political maneuvering. To President Klaus
    Iohannis, on the other hand, the vote in the Chamber of Deputies was a proof of
    irresponsibility and disregard for citizens. Klaus Iohannis:


    To
    destroy institutions and principles in order to rescue one person is, in my
    opinion, unacceptable in a democracy. What are the common citizens to
    understand now? That anyone who is charged with criminal offences may be
    prosecuted and tried, but a prime minister cannot, because he is backed by a
    parliamentary majority? What are we to understand now? That there are two
    Romanias, one for ordinary people and one for Mr. Ponta?


    Victor Ponta has
    no respect for the law and for the Romanians, the co-president of the National
    Liberal Party, Alina Gorghiu, also said.


    The head of
    government however says that the solution to this crisis is for him to present
    to prosecutors all the data they have requested, and that the Cabinet should be
    allowed to do its job. Ponta also claims that the strong calls for his
    resignation coming from President Iohannis are actually fuelled by the head of
    state’s plans to bring the Liberals in power. Victor Ponta:


    The
    political battle is back on a stage that we all remember, the game of criminal
    cases. And on Friday it was my turn. Why, when everything goes well, when
    everybody praises Romania, must we go back several years and rehash the battle
    of criminal accusations, to have Ponta out and Gorghiu in?


    For the time
    being, the PM cannot be prosecuted for conflict of interests, but prosecutors
    may carry on the investigation of criminal offences such as forgery, tax
    evasion and money laundering, which he presumably committed about ten years
    ago, when he was a lawyer.


    The new
    political and judicial scandal in Bucharest has had its echoes in Western
    capitals as well. The American Embassy in Bucharest says in a statement that
    accusations against government officials should be investigated without
    interference. The British diplomats in Bucharest also emphasized the need for
    judicial institutions to be allowed to act with impartiality and full
    independence, while their Dutch colleagues warn that the developments in
    Parliament reveal problems related to the attitude regarding justice and
    corruption in Romania.

  • A Controversial Decision

    Despite concerns voiced by the United States, the Government in Bucharest decided to move ahead as planned with its emergency ordinance sanctioning the political party-switching of local elected officials. They can now switch to a different political faction within 45 days of their being elected on the lists of their current party. US representatives to Romania say that regulating such delicate issues by means of emergency ordinances can be very damaging.



    American officials in Bucharest say such issues should be subject to a transparent process that should allow the holding of a debate involving all political parties, civil society and other stakeholders. On the other hand, the decision is ill-timed, given that presidential elections are due in November. Opinion polls show Social-Democrat Prime Minister Victor Ponta ranks first in voters’ choice. Many people believe, therefore, that the Government’s move is aimed at rallying support for the Prime Minister on the ground. Political party-switching has become commonplace in Romania over the years, with more and more politicians choosing to switch their affiliation to ruling parties or for personal interest.



    Many have labeled this tendency as an “immoral act”, while others have harshly criticized those politicians who are willing to abandon the interests of their constituents for their personal benefit. The Prime Minister, however, believes the emergency ordinance will do right by those local elected officials who are no longer members of the Alliance of Liberals and Liberal Democrats, after having left the Social Liberal Union. Opposition parties have announced they would attack the ordinance by any means possible.



    The newly founded Christian Liberal Alliance, whose presidential candidate is Liberal Klaus Iohannis, said it would not allow any such local leader to join their ranks. In turn, MEP Monica Macovei, also a presidential candidate, has called on the Ombudsman to refer the law to the Constitutional Court. Monica Macovei claims there is already a law in place on the status of local elected officials, which the new emergency ordinance will overrule for 45 days.

  • A Controversial Decision

    Despite concerns voiced by the United States, the Government in Bucharest decided to move ahead as planned with its emergency ordinance sanctioning the political party-switching of local elected officials. They can now switch to a different political faction within 45 days of their being elected on the lists of their current party. US representatives to Romania say that regulating such delicate issues by means of emergency ordinances can be very damaging.



    American officials in Bucharest say such issues should be subject to a transparent process that should allow the holding of a debate involving all political parties, civil society and other stakeholders. On the other hand, the decision is ill-timed, given that presidential elections are due in November. Opinion polls show Social-Democrat Prime Minister Victor Ponta ranks first in voters’ choice. Many people believe, therefore, that the Government’s move is aimed at rallying support for the Prime Minister on the ground. Political party-switching has become commonplace in Romania over the years, with more and more politicians choosing to switch their affiliation to ruling parties or for personal interest.



    Many have labeled this tendency as an “immoral act”, while others have harshly criticized those politicians who are willing to abandon the interests of their constituents for their personal benefit. The Prime Minister, however, believes the emergency ordinance will do right by those local elected officials who are no longer members of the Alliance of Liberals and Liberal Democrats, after having left the Social Liberal Union. Opposition parties have announced they would attack the ordinance by any means possible.



    The newly founded Christian Liberal Alliance, whose presidential candidate is Liberal Klaus Iohannis, said it would not allow any such local leader to join their ranks. In turn, MEP Monica Macovei, also a presidential candidate, has called on the Ombudsman to refer the law to the Constitutional Court. Monica Macovei claims there is already a law in place on the status of local elected officials, which the new emergency ordinance will overrule for 45 days.

  • Political controversies on CAS reduction

    Political controversies on CAS reduction

    Romanian president Traian Basescu and Prime Minister Victor Ponta have again argued over a new episode in the political controversy opposing each other. This time the bone of contention seems to be the measure providing for a 5% cut on Social Security Contributions for employers, which the government would like to see implemented as of October 1st.



    On Monday, the head of state summoned the Prime Minister for consultations after the former last week had announced that he would not sing off on the law unless the government came with solutions to and fill the gap caused by the reduction in order to avoid any budget imbalance. In the president’s opinion, a diminished CAS would increase a deficit in the pension fund and to offset that the government would have to raise taxes or cut on investment. The president was not convinced by the explanations provided either by Prime Minister Ponta or Finance Minister Ioana Petrescu.



    “I would have expected the Finance Minister to come up with a sheet of paper to provide explanations, but she didn’t. In my opinion this is a knee-jerk election measure, which might translate into additional taxes for the population. I’d like to believe the law’s main prerequisite was to grant some benefits to companies, something I agree with, but the gap in the budget will be filled with taxpayer money, one way or another. And it will be up to the government to find a way of covering it, by levying direct or indirect taxes.”



    In turn the Prime Minister describes the President’s refusal to sing the law as political propaganda. The Prime Minister sticks to his point about the opportunities offered by the CAS reduction. Prime Minister Ponta.



    “I’ve made it very clear to him and he was well aware of that; Romania will not change the pledges it assumed for this year. And for the 2015-2016 budget we’ll be considering measures to fight tax evasion, take into account the positive effects of the insolvency law, the way in which we see Romania’s economic development and one of the fundamental medium-term objectives, namely to have at least one employee paying contributions for a pensioner, because we have considerably reduced this ratio. However, unless we reach this pensioner-employee ratio in the following 10-20 years, the situation won’t improve.”



    At the end of the high-level talks, the president announced his intention to discuss the CAS-reduction issue with the representatives of the business environment, since the deadline for promulgating the law is July 24th. The president is also expecting a full report comprising concrete figures from the Finance Minister.