The dispute between the Power and the Opposition
Two weeks after the anti-government protests in Bucharest, the Prime Minister is accusing the opposition of trying to take over power by undemocratic means
Daniela Budu, 24.08.2018, 13:04
Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă on Thursday had a first reaction to the anti-government protests staged in Bucharest two weeks ago by the Romanian diaspora. She accused the opposition of trying to take over power by other means, after failing to win the elections. Dancila said she noticed an assault was carried out against the state institutions, with the Gendarmerie as a first target, and she called on the ministers in her cabinet and the heads of institutions in her subordination to avoid conflicts.
Viorica Dăncilă: “My appeal to all the ministers and to all heads of institutions in my subordination is to avoid this spiral of conflict that those who were incapable of winning the power in the elections are trying to attract us into, as they are now attempting to get the power by other, undemocratic means. Our response to all these challenges should be facts and concrete projects for the Romanians”.
The head of government believes the opposition is trying to fuel the spiral of conflict which divides society even more, strictly for political reasons. In turn, the leader of the National Liberal Party, Ludovic Orban, says there is no a spiral of conflict fuelled by the opposition, through the Liberals or by President Klaus Iohannis, but there is only a spiral of lies and abuses, promoted by the leader of the Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, PM Viorica Dăncilă, Interior Minister Carmen Dan and all those who gave the order leading to the attempted stifling of the protest and injuring people who participated in the anti-government protest rally of August 10.
In a communiqué, the Liberal leader reproaches the Prime Minister for not assuming responsibility for the forceful actions taken by the gendarmes and their effects on the protesters. Ludovic Orban claims the Liberals will request anew that the Interior Minister be heard in Parliament, together with the prefect of the capital city and the heads of the riot police and forces who intervened in Bucharest.
The Liberals also call on the President of the Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, to convene an extraordinary session of Parliament, as requested by the opposition, to find out the truth about the attempted stifling of protests of August 10, in the context in which-they say- nobody has been held responsible for the abuses committed by the gendarmes or for hooliganism.
Hundreds of complaints have been lodged at the Prefect’s Office about what was considered the excessive way in which the gendarmes intervened during the protest rally in Bucharest. In another move, the American Chamber of Commerce in Romania, AmCham, has made an appeal for decision makers and those holding public offices in Romania to show responsibility when making statements and taking actions alike, and called for the cessation of any type of discrimination against Romanians depending on their employer. The appeal comes after Liviu Dragnea said in a show on a TV channel that some of the multinational companies in Romania are financing the protests and that some companies have conflicting economic interests with that of the Romanian state.
