New ministers in Romania’s government
A small-scale government reshuffle has been completed in Bucharest
Corina Cristea, 20.07.2023, 14:00
Nominated early this week by the main partner in the ruling coalition, the Social Democratic Party, to take over the ministries for family and labour, respectively, the Deputies Natalia Intotero and Simona Bucura-Oprescu were sworn in on Wednesday afternoon.
The seats had been vacant since last week, when Gabriela Firea and Marius Budăi resigned following a scandal concerning grave irregularities in several care homes for the elderly and the disabled.
More than 2,000 such centres were checked by the authorities in the aftermath of the scandal, and several of these, mostly in Bucharest, were closed down. In scores of other similar institutions, operations have been discontinued and fines totalling some EUR 2 mln have been issued. Criminal investigations have also been initiated, concerning economic offences or crimes against persons, and two inspectors with the Ilfov County Agency for Social Inspection and Payments have been detained for having failed to properly assess the situation in a care centre for people with disabilities.
And, after talks with PM Marcel Ciolacu, the two relevant ministers also resigned. Ciolacu said at the time that mayors, county council presidents, chiefs of local institutions and police chiefs having connections with the institutions subject to the investigation must also take political responsibility.
Similarly, the Social Democratic Partys spokesman Lucian Romaşcanu said other officials should step down following the inspections conducted in the care centres for the elderly. „It only makes sense, at present, to conclude that the responsibility here lies not only with the government, but also with the local authorities. Decisions will certainly be made at Cabinet level, but the culprits at political and administrative level should also take a step back. It is a matter of political dignity,” the Social Democratic official argued.
For the time being, the new ministers have taken over their posts. Simona Bucura-Oprescu, 43, currently at her 3rd term in office in the Chamber of Deputies with support from the Social Democrats, is the new minister of labour and social solidarity. In a social media post on Monday, she said the law on special pensions, the pensions law and the salary law are the priorities of her ministerial term, with a view to completing the reforms undertaken under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
The new minister for family, youth and equal opportunities, Natalia Intotero, is 47 and is also at her 3rd term in office as an MP. (AMP)
