Orban's claims on public television

On the evening of 20 October 2026, former National Liberal Party chairman and former prime minister Ludovic Orban appeared on the public broadcaster TVR in the programme "Dialoguri de pace", hosted by journalist Dana Chera. Orban, who had served as presidential adviser on internal policy for about a month and a half before being released from the post, argued that President Nicușor Dan was seeking the backing of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) for a new term. Asked why the president could trust the PSD, Orban said the intelligence services had probably guaranteed that the party would be a long-distance partner that keeps its agreements with Nicușor Dan.

“Probably the services guaranteed him that the PSD will be a long-distance party that will keep its agreements with Nicușor.”

Orban then named the SRI and the SPP, and referred to the interim head of the SRI as the little-known Mr Ionescu. He said Ionescu ran the SRI pe șestache, a Romanian expression for doing a job in a haphazard way. When the host asked whether Ionescu bore responsibility, Orban answered that the fault lay with the president. Orban has made similar claims about officials in the services before, without producing evidence.

The SRI reply

The service answered with a statement posted on its official Facebook page late that night. Reports put the release at 22:33 and close to 23:00, shortly after the broadcast ended. The SRI called Orban's accusations regrettable and irresponsible, describing their repeated public airing as the launch of unfounded claims that attribute political involvement to the institution without any evidence. It also objected to what it called suburban language about the service and its leadership, saying the repetition of such language prompted the reply. The service rarely comments on political statements, which is why this reply stands out.

“The Service does not take part in political understandings and carries out its activity exclusively within the limits set by the Constitution of Romania and the law.”

The statement also said the SRI would keep protecting Romanians and the Romanian state in line with the law and with the resources allocated, given the changing nature and seriousness of threats.

The interim leadership

The most contested part of Orban's remarks concerned who leads the service on an interim basis. The SRI said that arrangement is neither secret nor outside the law, and it rejected the description pe șestache outright. Reports identify the interim head as General Răzvan Ionescu. The service stressed that the person holding the interim role is publicly identified and that the legality of the post is a matter of law rather than opinion.

“The identity of the person ensuring the interim is public, and the legality of exercising the function is not a matter of opinion.”

The statement added that the service does not take part in political agreements, a direct answer to Orban's suggestion that intelligence officials had vouched for the PSD to the president.

Political backdrop

Orban's remarks came shortly after Parliament validated the government led by Luca Niculescu, a cabinet that reports describe as made up largely of PSD ministers. Orban, who had been a presidential adviser for about six weeks before his release, also claimed that Nicușor Dan trusts Sorin Grindeanu and the PSD. In his account, the president's alignment with the Social Democrats was aimed at securing their support for a second term.

Timeline

The sequence was brief: the interview aired on the evening of 20 October, and the SRI's reply followed late that night.

The SRI's statement is the service's official position on the matter so far. Orban's claims about the SPP and its head were made only in his on-air remarks.