Romanian President Opposes Dismissal of Government

Klaus Iohannis, the President of Romania, on Tuesday, February 7, strongly criticized the government for issuing a decree that, according to opponents, would undermine the fight against administrative corruption, but he did not consider the dismissal of the government "appropriate at this time." This comes as part of hundreds of thousands of Romanians who have been protesting against the decree since last week, declaring they will continue their demonstrations until the government is dismissed. The government of Sorin Grindeanu, the Prime Minister of Romania, announced on Sunday that it had revoked the decree related to administrative corruption under pressure from opponents. If implemented, this decree would have meant that several embezzlement-related crimes would no longer be considered offenses and would also protect many officials in the country from corruption allegations. Romania, with a population of twenty million, is one of the poorest countries in the European Union, and financial corruption is at a higher level compared to most countries in the union. According to Reuters, the President of Romania, in a speech to the parliament on Tuesday, condemned the government's action in issuing this decree, stating that it was issued "overnight and secretly" last week without consulting the parliament. Mr. Iohannis addressed the relevant officials regarding the issuance of this decree, stating that "your concern was not the welfare of the Romanian people but rather the control of the status of criminal cases," adding that "this is why Romanians became upset and revolted." Nevertheless, he stated that holding new elections is not an appropriate response, and the complete dismissal of the government at this time is "disproportionate action." The President explained to the government that "you won the previous elections, and now you govern and legislate, but not at any cost." Although the presidential office in Romania is primarily ceremonial, the President is responsible for appointing a new Prime Minister after each election and can also return laws to parliament for reconsideration. According to Reuters, representatives of the ruling Social Democratic Party left the parliament in protest during Klaus Iohannis's speech. The Social Democratic Party of Romania has been in power for less than two months. Protests against the decree on Sunday evening brought over half a million Romanians to the streets in the capital and dozens of other cities, marking the largest anti-government demonstrations in Romania since the fall of communism. The marches continued even after the decree was revoked, but according to the German news agency, the number of protesters decreased to 20,000 on Monday, who were calling for the government's dismissal.