Marcel Ciolacu: “The lip is not in Moldova and I kindly ask you not to offend me”. A Civic Association D

UPDATE at 18.45: The Head of the Executive conveyed that he did not intend to offend anyone, because “first of all I am Romanian”, that his mother was from Tecuci and specified: “I love my country and I believe in God”.

He added that he made a joke that was interpreted politically and apologized. “I see that a joke I made in Timișoara was interpreted and some are trying to make political speculation about it. It was nothing pejorative. If anyone felt offended, I apologize, that’s not what I wanted,” Ciolacu said on Facebook.

UPDATE at 17.20: PNL vice-president Alexandru Muraru, a powerful man in the party led by Nicolae Ciucă, criticized the PSD president for these statements.

“I didn’t expect Mr. Prime Minister Ciolacu to teach us lessons in geography or good manners, but to despise Moldovans is clearly a sign of weak political instinct. Going back on the statement would be a sign that his lordship intended to learn more, not just to give lessons”, claimed the leader of PNL Iași, who is the brother of the Romanian ambassador to the USA, Andrei Muraru.

***

Original news: Everything started from a question about the administrative reform regarding the regionalization of Romania. “I would like you to refer a little to this project of regionalization of Romania, a project that has been going on for about 30 years. […] How do you see this finality?” was the question asked by the local journalist.

The prime minister replied that the budget reform and territorial regionalization will have to be done, without giving a time horizon: “A very clear analysis is needed and a plan must be come up.”

And he continued: “Certain steps have been lost. But basically, like the public administration where a central and local reform must be done, regionalization will also have to be done. This does not mean that they will be abolished… There will be regions, the projects will be submitted together and certain mergers will be made, but after a very precise study, for each individual county”.

The Head of the Executive, who was in Timișoara with several ministers, added that “you have to come up with balance instruments, you have to cover the gap” and tried a joke, saying that Sorin Grindeanu from Banat is building a highway in Moldova, not in Timișoara nor in Buzau. Prime Minister Ciolacu was born in Buzau.

“Exactly what happened to you in Timisoara. That’s it, the Banatian from Grindeanu came to build a highway in Moldova. Buzăul is not in Moldova and please don’t offend me. But a Buzoian (ed. Marcel Ciolacu) also came who, together with Mr. Grindeanu and the rest of his colleagues in the government, started to bring the people of Timisoara what is right to bring. Thank you very much”, said Marcel Ciolacu.

The statements raised the smiles of the Minister of Labour, Simona Bucura-Oprescu, the interim president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfred Simonis, and the Deputy Prime Minister Marian Neacșu, who were behind the head of the Government.

The placement of Buzău county in the Moldova region can be confusing for those unfamiliar with the administrative boundaries. Buzăul is in the south-east of the country, in an area associated with Muntenia, and from an administrative point of view it is included in the South-East development region, not in the Moldova region.

A civic association from Iasi asks Ciolacu for an explanation

The Movement for the Development of Moldova asked the Prime Minister to give clarifications after the statements of the previous day.

“Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu made on Thursday, April 25, 2024, in an election press conference in Timisoara, several statements about the opportunity of regionalization of Romania and about the highway that connects Moldova with the rest of the country. In this context, he made the following statement with a smile: “Buzăul is not in Moldova and please don’t offend me”. The Association Movement for the Development of Moldova asks the Prime Minister for public explanations regarding the statement made: what personal offense would it have been if Buzăul was in Moldova?”, MDM representatives sent, according to news.ro.

They claim that “the substratum of the statement is primarily offensive to the entire population of the Moldova region”, from which Ciolacu “distinguished himself in a contemptuous way”.

“With such an attitude, with such irresponsible statements referring to the citizens of the region of Moldova, Mr. Marcel Ciolacu can no longer hold the position of prime minister of Romania. The presence of Mr. Ciolacu at the head of the Government is an insult to this country”, the statement also states.

Follow us on Google News