Senate President Tariceanu says President Iohannis chose to do politics by caviling Gov't

The President chose to do politics by caviling the Government and attempting to permanently block its activity, Senate President and leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) Calin Popescu Tariceanu stated on Friday. 

"Unfortunately, the President chose this method to do politics by caviling the Government, through attempts to permanently block the Government activity, without realising how much damage causes to the country and the society. (...) The President's gesture is totally inopportune and unjustified," Tariceanu stated in Oradea, when referring to President Iohannis's statements regarding the national budget. 

In respect to the remark regarding the funding of parties, made by the head of state, Tariceanu labeled it as "demagogy and populism." 

"Over the past years, Romania was confronted with a corruption component related to the political parties which resorted to the funding or sponsorship formulas, to call them so, of which, some of them could have been considered outside the law. And, for this reason, there were numerous investigations and lawsuits related to the political parties and some people were convicted. I believe that the solution which other democratic states of the European Union is also practicing, that of funding the political parties, which, after all, are some democratic and useful institutions to the society, represents a very good solution, precisely for this channels not to exist, which bring corruption, influence peddling, groups of influence that promote certain interests which are not always related to those of the society. And I believe that this solution should be welcomed, not criticised, in order to clean up the political life and political parties of corruption. If he is consistent and truly concerned with fighting corruption, he should take into account these considerations which underpin the law," the ALDE leader said. 

President Klaus Iohannis announced on Friday that he will refer the 2019 budget draft bill to the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR).