Bolojan accuses PSD of double talk after Romania passes first 2026 budget rectification

Budget rectification adopted on Friday

The Romanian government adopted an emergency ordinance (OUG) rectifying the 2026 budget on Friday, 30 October, the first such rectification of the year. Former prime minister Ilie Bolojan, who leads the National Liberal Party (PNL), responded the same afternoon in a Facebook post, saying the ordinance confirms the 'good inheritance' his own government left to the current one. Finance Ministry calculations put the effect of the rectification at a 3.5 billion lei increase in the budget deficit. The consolidated cash deficit remains at 6.24% of GDP after the change.

Deficit and investment figures

Bolojan wrote that the deficit fell to 3.81% of GDP after the first nine months of the year, down from 5.31% in the same period of 2025. He also said public investment rose by more than 25 billion lei compared with the previous year. He presented both figures as data the government had officially adopted that day, and the deficit comparison is shown below.

First nine months 20255.31

First nine months 20263.81

First nine months 2025

5.31 % of GDP

First nine months 2026

3.81 % of GDP

Data from the article text

Bolojan accuses PSD of double talk

Bolojan said the Social Democratic Party (PSD), led by Sorin Grindeanu, had dropped its threat to block the rectification until what he called 'doctored' deficits were presented. He accused the party of attacking on television in the evening the decisions its ministers had approved in the morning. He urged the party to focus on governing rather than on the budget rectification alone.

“Now that you have officially confirmed the good inheritance, roll up your sleeves and govern, because Romania's needs are not limited to the rectification.”

In a separate passage he described the pattern in one sentence.

“Sure, for PSD it is already a modus operandi to attack in the evening on television what its ministers adopted in the morning in the Government.”

Health ministry and European funds

Bolojan singled out the Health Ministry, headed by Health Minister Alexandru Rogobete. He wrote that most of the sums rectified for the ministry result from Rogobete's failure to allocate budget money according to priorities and to access European funds (PNRR and cohesion) worth 700 million lei. The two men had already clashed over health spending. Rogobete had said the budget law started with a deficit of almost five billion lei in the health sector, while Bolojan had accused him of handling the allocation poorly.

Reading the figures

The 3.81% and 5.31% figures are a year-on-year comparison of the first nine months, as Bolojan presented them. The 3.5 billion lei increase is the Finance Ministry's estimate of what the rectification itself adds to the deficit. The two measures describe different things, and the sources do not reconcile them.