Dragnea's guarantee

The suspicion that the program of the PSD is nothing but a bunch of promises that won't be honored, once the party's members get into the government, was countered by the president of the party, Liviu Dragnea, who invoked the guarantee of the law.

In the show "Jocuri de putere" (Power games) of December 7th, 2016, the following conversation took place (which we include hereinafter), in which Liviu Dragnea told Rareş Bogdan that for the first time in Romania, he is going to enact the legal provisions which stipulate that the failure to comply with the governing program leads to the resignation of the government.

He's persuasive, even though he's been convicted.

The truth is no businessman is interested in which party is going to impose the payment of the VAT upon the collection of invoices, rather than upon their issuing - and idea which was brought up years ago by Dan Voiculescu, who is currently in jail; we are simply interested in paying VAT upon the collection of invoices.

If the PSD does that, then it will have our gratitude, of all of us, including that of liberal businesspeople, or affiliated with the UDMR, USR or even former members of the Communist Youth.

I would even be grateful to Dan Voiculescu, if he actually succeeded in doing it.

But then why not be grateful to Liviu Dragnea, who unlike Dan Voiculescu, is still free?!

The PSD has presented an electoral platform with objectives that the business sector has long clamored for, clearly phrased, with quantitative assessments and with clearly set schedules.

I have praised his program, because I thought that, by going past the stage of improvisation (which has been the case with the other parties and as has been the norm so far), regardless of whether the program would never get implemented and has been just a set of lies to get votes, it would teach the other parties a lesson, forever, on how to show up for the elections, how to respect their voters and what the self-respect of another political party looks like.

But beyond this indubitable benefit to our political life, I have obviously shared the suspicion that the Program won't be implemented.

The PSD never does what it promises (especially since no political party ever does what it promises).

But this time Liviu Dragnea adamantly states the opposite.

In the public dialogue we included below, he says that the electoral program will become a governing program, that the governing program is a law and that if the PSD government does not apply the measures included in the Governing program, then it would get removed, according to some legal provisions that have never been activated so far, but which the PSD will activate for the first time.

Very convincing!

But I have a privilege compared to other citizens - I am a journalist.

As a journalist, I don't buy things I get told so easily.

Rareş Bogdan bought it, not because he wasn't a journalist, but because, during a live interview, he had no way of checking what his interlocutor was selling him - when going live, you'll just swallow anything you're told, even a fly.

I don't like flies.

That is why I prefer the printed press.

I had the time I needed to search and check.

The law no. 90 of March 26th, 2001 (updated) concerning the organization and functioning of the Romanian government and of ministries says that the governing program is part of the ritual for the appointment of the new government, nothing that would resemble what Dragnea said.

The law concerning the liability of ministries no.115/1999 (republished in 2007) says that the liability for failing to meet the government program is political (see insert), meaning that the Government can be dismissed through a vote of no-confidence.

So?!

What's new about that?

What the hell is Liviu Dragnea activating "for the first time"?

There have been governments removed through votes of no-confidence before?

And how is the PSD-ALDE government going to be brought down, when it has the majority in the parliament together with ALDE?!

In the end, what exactly has Dragnea told us on TV?

When journalist Rareş Bogdan asked him for guarantees, he gave him a lie?!

In the end, even that wouldn't matter, if the PSD made it that we paid VAT upon the payment of invoices and made all those charming dreams in the Electoral platform come true.

Lie all you want, brother!

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POST SCRIPTUM

I'd be happy to be wrong.

I want to be wrong.

My holiday wish to you all is that I am wrong!