Romania and the Need for a Reformed Parliament

President Iohannis calls for a more efficient and responsible Parliament.

Bogdan Matei, 17.09.2015, 13:39

Unlike other presidents that Romania has had after the fall of communism, such as Ion Iliescu and Traian Basescu, the current president, Klaus Iohannis, has never been a Parliament member. A former mayor of the city of Sibiu between 2000 and 2014, representing the German Democratic Forum, Iohannis became a member of a major political party only in 2013, when he joined the National Liberal Party. This is why, pundits say, he is so good at expressing citizens dissatisfaction with the legislative body and the petty political games that senators and deputies in important parties are playing.

On Wednesday, President Iohannis did not hesitate to ask Parliament for more coherence in drawing up the laws. In a speech delivered before the Parliaments plenary session, Iohannis warned that the repeated revision of laws is affecting key fields like Education and Health. The head of state mentioned the example of the Education Law, which has been revised 26 times. Also, the Health Law has been revised 114 times, the Local Administration Law 38 times, the Labor Code 28 times and the Public Procurement Law 35 times. This can only trigger growing dissatisfaction among citizens. Klaus Iohannis:

Klaus Iohannis: “Ive recently seen a study which shows that 80% of Romanians are unhappy with the laws being so difficult to understand. The fact that people want laws that are clearer and more simple, that do not change overnight, should not surprise anyone. The habit of passing a law today only to change it through an emergency ordinance tomorrow must be given up.

The President has proposed that MPs replace this counterproductive and expensive manner of legislating with a different one:

Klaus Iohannis: “A flexible legislation, in keeping with the societys needs and expectations, free of populism and likely to last in time should become the priority of the entire political class.

Over the last years, tens of MPs from the power and opposition, from the left and right wing, have been investigated and eventually sentenced to prison for their involvement in corruption cases. A lack of response and often the refusal to leave their colleagues without immunity, as requested by anti-corruption prosecutors, has affected the image of the Romanian Parliament.

“In my opinion, a strong Parliament also means a fair position as to the judiciary. Respect for the law also means respect for the justice system. I have informed you every time that this principle was violated, not because I mean to interfere with Parliaments work, but because the way in which this institution answers requests from the judiciary can affect its credibility, President Iohannis has also said. After the speech, representatives of both the Social-Democratic power and the Liberal opposition have expressed their willingness to make efforts to improve the image of the Parliament, which currently enjoys the trust of only 10 to 12% of Romanians.