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The newly-elect Speaker of the Senate, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu on Wednesday said that the Parliament should assume its role of main legislator, adding that the law-making forum "is not a multinational [company]" and it doesn't work in the logic of such a company.
"The vote the Romanians have cast on 11 December is giving us a renewed legitimacy. (...) A new Parliament, with its legitimacy reconfirmed, is the paramount form any rule of law and democracy. A fundamental principle of democracy should be reconfirmed in the new legislature - namely the mutual control and balance of the state powers. The Parliament answers to Romanians, to the citizens who have given it their vote of confidence. The control over the Legislative is accomplished by the real masters of Romania and not by the ephemeral leaders of some institutions. The Parliament should take on its role of main legislator. The Parliament is not a multinational [company], it does not function by a multinational's logic. The Members of the Parliament have no boss and no imperative mandate," said Tariceanu on Wednesday at the Senate's rostrum.
He pointed that the Parliament is "the fundamental element of the liberal democracy", and that a strong Legislative cannot be but "beneficial" for Romania. "If we want more democracy, then we must have an active Parliament to exercising its constitutional part. We are facing a decisive moment for Romania, for its future. It is high time we decided whether Romania is a sovereign state, where the important decisions are made inside the country, by the ones the Romanians are electing, or a second-hand state, where decisions are dictated by others and completed by the people appointed and not elected. We must return to the normalcy of a liberal democracy where the Government is political, namely elected by the vote of the MPs, and by observing the will of the people manifested in elections. It is high time that we decide whether the Parliament assumes its constitutional role and is a strong institution or a controllable body, with a rather ornamental role," the Senate President said.
In his opinion, the year 2016 when Romania was ruled by a technocrat government was a 'lost year.' "Within a few days, the Parliament will be called to put an end to a state of abnormality in any democracy, a period you very well know we had a technocrat government.Unfortunately, in my opinion, the year 2016 was a lost year which we have to regain in 2017," he completed. According to Tariceanu, the vote of 11 December was a vote for normalcy. "Thank you for your confidence vote in this extremely honouring position. (...) Beyond the partisan interpretations, the 11 December vote was a vote for normalcy, a vote from millions of Romanians who feel that they don't benefit from the economic growth, a vote from the Romanians who wish that their rights and freedoms be respected. It is our role to act to fulfill our mandate," said Tariceanu.
