Ludovic Orban accuses President Nicușor Dan of betrayal and threatens to push for his impeachment
Former PNL leader Ludovic Orban launched a scathing attack on President Nicușor Dan, accusing him of allying with the PSD and betraying voters, and warned he may soon support the president's removal from office.
The accusations
Ludovic Orban, the former leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and now head of Forța Dreptei, published a lengthy Facebook post on Monday in which he accused President Nicușor Dan of abandoning the reformist platform that got him elected. Orban, who served briefly as a presidential advisor to Dan before being dismissed, said he had supported the president to fight against what he called a corrupt system.
Nicușor! I supported you to fight alongside us against them.
Orban listed the enemies he expected Dan to confront: the Social Democratic Party (PSD), whom he described as corrupt and suffocating state institutions; the AUR and Șoșoară parties, which he labelled crypto-communist, anti-democratic, and pro-Russian; former Securitate officers still influencing state decisions; and a network of corrupt magistrates controlling the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM).
Justice and security services
The former prime minister detailed specific failures. He claimed Dan did nothing to block the appointment of Savonea as president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ÎCCJ), swiftly named chief prosecutors and their deputies, and kept the same leadership in the intelligence services.
You kept the same people at the helm of the services, even though it was obvious to anyone with a minimum of common sense that changing them is vital and that no reform of the services can happen as long as they remain at the controls.
Orban said the president remained a silent accomplice to all the wrongdoings since taking office.
Political alliance claims
The sharpest charge was that Dan secretly negotiated with the PSD to bring down the government of Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and now wants a new cabinet installed with votes from the PSD, Șoșoară, George Simion's party, and AUR.
You 'șobolănit' on the sly with the PSD to topple the Bolojan government and now you want a government based on the votes of the PSD, șoșocari, georgiști and auriști.
The Romanian slang term "șobolănit" implies sneaky, underhanded dealings. Orban called this a betrayal of the people who believed in Dan and voted for him.
Impeachment threat
Orban concluded by severing his political ties with the president and raising the prospect of impeachment.
You no longer represent me. Don't be surprised if I soon come to consider you the greatest threat to democracy in Romania. And that I will act accordingly. That is, I will start supporting the necessity of your removal from the office you reached by lying to us, the people of good faith in Romania.
The statement marks a dramatic rupture between two figures who were once close allies. Orban had attended the PNL Congress on Sunday, signalling his return to the party after a five-year absence.
