Acting Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Sorin Grindeanu declared on Friday that what truly undermines the state is not the ordinary citizen struggling to make ends meet - not the rural vendor selling produce outside his home, nor the waiter serving at government headquarters, but the real damage lies in the appointment of organized crime figures to leadership roles in customs services, and in the millions of euros exchanged in bribes for access to high-level decision-makers.
"I'm saying this clearly now, for those who have ears to hear: there will be no new law package pledged by the government without the PSD economic recovery measures. To be clear! Just as we will put a stop to anyone else passing laws in secret for personal gain, while the law on the minimum wage is ignored and delayed in brazen contempt for the lowest-income Romanians. From an economic point of view, Romania is today like a bus without brakes, where the driver takes selfies instead of holding the steering wheel tightly. Romania loses tens of millions of euros of European money every day because of arrogance. We have reached the absurd situation where we are told that grandma's homemade vegetable stew or jam are the cause of the deficit. I believe that the enemy of the state is not the peasant who sells fruit and vegetables at the door of his house. Not the mothers. Not the pensioners. Not the war veterans. And not even the waiters and the mineral water served at the government. But the fact that organized crime bosses are appointed at the helm of customs services. Or that millions of euros are paid for high-level audiences. That is, a modern version of the survival fee," Grindeanu told the PSD Extraordinary Congress.
He added that, more recently, in order to land a public position "one needs to be a USR-member, a special pensioner collecting 28,000 RON in retirement benefits at age 50, and a contributor to the presidential campaign".
"The VAT is increasing, while correct and European solutions such as progressive taxation are postponed. I assure you that in 2027 these things will change! The right-wingers must also understand this - well, those who delude themselves into thinking they are right-wingers, although they have worked for the state all their lives. You cannot grow the economy with cuts and austerity alone. That's what they did during the pandemic, when they shut down the economy, when they cut salaries and pensions, when they brought the IMF to Romania, and it is clear that they will do this from now on too. That is the big problem, and in the absence of an alternative, we, the PSD, must offer the solutions," Grindeanu said.
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