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Chairman of the Save Romania Union (USR) Dacian Ciolos said on Thursday that the party still rules out a coalition government led by the National Liberal Party (PNL) leader Florin Citu.
He told private broadcaster Digi 24 that the conditions under which the USR could be part of a coalition government were "very clear". Asked if USR would accept the rebuilding of the coalition with a Government led by Florin Citu, Ciolos replied that, as far as Save Romania Union is concerned, this is a closed issue.
"This is a joke. Let's put an end to these things. I keep hearing these discussions. Let us end this topic, which from our point of view has already been closed for some time. I suggest we talk about serious things, the government programme, what we do together, how we structure the way the coalition works. This is a closed topic, it is being reheated every time. Let us move on to serious things, if we want to get out of the crisis. (...) Yesterday [Wednesday, ed.n.] ( ...) we agreed together that we would leave the subject of the prime minister for later. We were very clear that we agreed for the prime minister to come from PNL. Other than that, USR's position in relation to a new prime minister, in case the coalition is rebuilt, is well-known," he said.
Ciolos mentioned that USR will engage into negotiations only after PNL states "very clearly" that it wants to rebuild the coalition.
"We want to know as soon as possible what the PNL decides. Because, well, discussions have been going on. We have seen, for a few weeks, they seem undecided. They keep going from side to side, they don't really know what they want in the party. I believe it is currently important for the PNL to make a very clear decision, with data and information on the table. They know what our expectations are from a possible re-entry to government. (...) We have been patient for a few weeks now. I think that Romanians, Romania has run out of patience. From this point of view, the PNL must assume a responsibility not towards us, USR, but towards the people who elected them and gave them a mandate to go in Parliament to make reforms," Dacian Ciolos explained.
According to him, USR would like solutions to be implemented to get out of the health crisis and that of energy prices, but also reforms to solve Romania's "structural problems". In Ciolos' opinion, such structural problems "cannot be solved" by a PNL-PSD coalition.
"The country has blown to smithereens by PSD [Social Democrat Party]. It has not solved any problems so far. So, PNL has to choose. USR was very clear in its expectations: a very clearly assumed reform plan both in terms of timing and content; the budget for next year to be very clear and realistic, according to the priorities, a very clearly defined way of functioning of the coalition, both as regards decisions in the Government and in Parliament, in order to avoid, in the future, subordinating the coalition to the personal humors of the prime minister or to any another politician member of the government," Ciolos further said.
