PNL deputy leader says alliance with PSD came at a major cost for the liberals and Romania

Oana Gheorghiu says the National Liberal Party paid a heavy political price for its partnership with the Social Democratic Party, but regained its “backbone” after Ilie Bolojan took over its leadership.

“ We must have the courage to learn from the lessons of the past and not repeat the same mistakes,” Gheorghiu wrote on Facebook on Sunday. She made the remarks after attending a summer school for senior liberal members, where she discussed her experience in civil society, what brought her into politics and the values she sees as essential to liberalism.

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We must have the courage to learn from the lessons of the past and not repeat the same mistakes.

Gheorghiu listed individual freedom, private property, entrepreneurship, the rule of law, investment and productivity, along with respect for work and public money. She also said PNL had a historic role in building modern Romania.

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For the sake of hollow phrases such as ‘stability’ and ‘the national interest,’ the party’s previous leadership turned PNL into an appendage of PSD. Once Ilie Bolojan took over the party leadership, PNL regained its backbone.

Her sharpest criticism targeted the party’s previous leadership. “For the sake of hollow phrases such as ‘stability’ and ‘the national interest,’ the party’s previous leadership turned PNL into an appendage of PSD. Once Ilie Bolojan took over the party leadership, PNL regained its backbone,” she said.

Gheorghiu added that politicians should put citizens’ interests first. “Politicians have a duty to fight for the good of honest people, not to make every possible compromise just to receive positions and privileges,” she said.

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Politicians have a duty to fight for the good of honest people, not to make every possible compromise just to receive positions and privileges.