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Prime Minister Florin Citu said on Friday that he wants to keep the coalition with the Save Romania Union - Freedom, Unity and Solidarity Party (USR PLUS) alliance together and that the solution to the current tensions is the nomination of a new Justice Minister, not entering negotiations with the Social Democratic Party (PSD) or the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR).
"The solution for overcoming this minor impasse, I would say - because it could have been solved immediately with the nomination of another Justice Minister - lies within the coalition, not outside. It does not reside in negotiations with our enemies and the enemies of the Romanian people, the PSD or the extremists. (...) I still cannot fathom that today, in Romania, whoever sits down at the coalition table can bring extremists or socialists for negotiations. (...) PNL and I are making no compromise with PSD. We have no reason to negotiate with the enemies of the Romanian people. To negotiate with PSD means to negotiate against the Romanian people," Citu said in a press statement at the House of Parliament.
He specified that maintaining the coalition and implementing the governing program are important to him and declared himself "very confident" that he will survive the political crisis as Premier. According to the Liberal Prime Minister, his stepping down would mean bringing down his own government.
"Never will the PNL or I make a compromise with the PSD. We will never side with the PSD, the party of Dragnea, Ciolacu and others of the like. We will never ally with them. Whoever sides with PSD is with Dragnea and Ciolacu. He who attempts to trade PSD votes to oust his own government is in the same league with Dragnea and the PSD. (...) We, the PNL, will never take down our own government. The Prime Minister's resignation means taking down your own government. We will never do this, the more so as we have so much to do in the next period. The National Recovery and Resilience Plan will be approved in a few weeks. We must issue an ordinance to offset the Romanians' energy bills this winter. The National Investment Plan must be implemented immediately. And we still have a pandemic on our hands," Citu said.
In his opinion, the adoption of the OUG on the "Anghel Saligny" Program represents an emergency "after 30 years without water, sewage and no paved roads" and stressed that he has "every time" supported the priorities of USR PLUS.
"It is not my fault that after eight months a certain Ministry is underperforming, although now that I see them negotiating with PSD, I might have some answers," Citu said.
