Political topics under debate

The right-wing Government and the left-wing opposition have engaged in heated debates in recent weeks

Ştefan Stoica, 15.01.2020, 13:55

During the Social-Democratic
Government’s term in office, the Liberals in opposition advanced a bill to
double children’s allowances. Subsequently, the Social-Democrats were removed
from office, not without doubling these allowances beforehand. This highly
populist measure risks destabilizing an already overburdened budget, based on a
deficit of 3%, the maximum accepted at EU level. Ludovic Orban’s Cabinet
announced that, although ratified by the president, the law doubling children’s
allowances will take effect in July at the earliest, with the first budget
adjustment. Labor Minister Violeta Alexandru:

Let’s be very clear – we
completely understand the need to double children’s allowances. Still, since
the law was passed after we had finalized the budget for 2020, we need to find
the resources that can cover this increase, which is unsustainable right now.

The Social-Democrats have accused
the Liberal Government of irresponsibility and lack of professionalism. In an
attempt to boost their image in an election year, the Social-Democrats claim
one solution to make more funds available for the doubling of children’s
allowances would be to repeal the law on special pensions. Interim
Social-Democrat leader and Chamber of Deputies Speaker Marcel Ciolacu said
Parliament would convene in an extraordinary sitting at the end of January to
debate the draft law on repealing special pensions, with the exception of
military and law enforcement. All political parties are now questioning special
pensions benefiting certain categories of public employees, mainly magistrates,
which are outrageously high compared to normal pension, considering they shun
the principle of fair contribution. The same parties however introduced the
special pensions, whenever international rules and regulations so demanded or
the measure would boost their election scores. Another bone of contention
between power and opposition right now revolves over the Liberals’ intention to
modify the election law, thus reintroducing the organization of local elections
in two separate rounds. Marcel Ciolacu said he would send a letter to European
bodies informing them of the Liberals’ intention to amend the election legislation
months before the local elections are scheduled to take place, which goes against
recommendations. The Social-Democrats believe such an undertaking would affect
credibility in Romanian democracy and the rule of law. The Social-Democrats said
they would file a no-confidence motion if the Government will assume
responsibility in Parliament over the modified election law. Social-Democrat
leader Marcel Ciolacu:

You have no right whatsoever in a
democratic and European state to modify the election law two or three months
before the election is due. This has never happened in the history of Romania
and we hope it won’t happen now either.

A potential demise of the Orban
Cabinet would trigger early elections, a scenario that favors the Liberals and
less so the Social-Democrats, which are still trying to recover from the
repeated blows they were dealt in 2019.