Do you see the risk that more fiscal restraint enacted by a “technical” administration could increase voters’ distrust in politics and fuel more support for the populist far right?
Yes, the risk is real, and I take it seriously. Fiscal restraint that is perceived as unfair — restraint that touches the citizen first and the privileged last — does feed the extreme. The first job of this government is, therefore, to make sure that the order is reversed. The state pays its fair share before the citizen pays anything new.
There is also a deeper point. Romanian voters are not, in their majority, against Europe or against responsibility. They are exhausted by being told one thing in election campaigns and the opposite the day after. A technical government that says exactly what it will do, in precise calendar terms, and then does it, is the most powerful answer to the cynicism that the populist far right has been feeding on.
If we hit our European anchors and the citizens see, every month, something concrete delivered — a kindergarten opened, a kilometer of motorway inaugurated, an energy voucher arriving on time, a hospital handed over — the political dividend of that delivery is exactly the antibody against extremism.
Will you work with the far-right AUR party if necessary to pass legislation?
I respect the opinion and vote of every Romanian citizen. In a democracy, everyone is free to vote according to their beliefs. However, I will never accept, nor will I understand political parties that act against Romania’s national interest, and AUR has displayed such behavior on multiple occasions.