Reactions to the Defence Minister’s resignation

PM Nicolae Ciuca is interim minister of the Defence Ministry, after the resignation of Vasile Dincu.

Ştefan Stoica, 25.10.2022, 12:13

On Monday, on the eve of the Army Day and of a meeting of the Higher Defence Council, the defence minister Vasile Dincu, resigned. The Social Democrat said his decision was prompted by the fact that it was impossible for him to work with the head of state, who is also the head of the army. Hadnt he resigned, he would have stood by the president at todays meeting of the Higher Defence Council. The former minister explained in a post on a social network that he decided to resign so as not to cause any disruption in the decision-making process and in the programmes that require the continuity of the entire chain of command, but also to prevent blockages in a number of projects that are vital for the well functioning of the Romanian Army.

Dincu also said that no one had openly requested his resignation, but that the idea had been suggested through various channels in the past six months. Dincus position as minister was seriously compromised, after a number of shocking political statements he had made, statements that went against the official stand of Bucharest, of its allies and partners, which are standing by Ukraine. Dincu had said on a private TV station that the only chance to end the war was to negotiate with Russia, negotiations that, in his opinion, had to be held with the help of NATO and the US, two international actors that he saw as able to guarantee peace for Ukraine. “We must all accept that it is only Ukraine that will decide when, how and what it negotiates. This is our official stand, it is the official stand of the European Union and some of our politicians should probably read the press review more often to learn about this stand, President Klaus Iohannis said in response to Dincus statements.

In light of all this, the Opposition asked Dincu for explanations, while PM Nicolae Ciuca said he would have a discussion with him. Time has passed and things seemed to get back to normal. This might explain why the Social Democrats have been taken by surprise and are rather unprepared to make a new proposal for the defence minister position. Their leader, Marcel Ciolacu, said he though Vasile Dincu managed to explain his statements and that the issue was settled. Ciolacu had previously explained that Dincu did not want to suggest, with his statements, that Ukraine had to cede territories.

PM Nicolae Ciuca is now interim defence minister, a position he can no longer hold more than 45 days. The Liberals asked the coalition partners to come up with a serious proposal for minister as soon as possible. In his turn, the USR leader, Catalin Drula, reacted to Dincus resignation by saying he was the weak link of the defence sector. According to the leader of the main opposition party, Dincu should have been dismissed 2 weeks ago. Romania, the URS says, needs a defence minister that fully understands the importance of their role at such troubled times. (EE)