UPDATE/President Iohannis: Our country is in great need of young people

President Klaus Iohannis stated on Saturday, at the National Liberal Youth (TNL) Summer School organised in Venus seaside resort that Romania needs the involvement of youngsters in all areas of activity. "My firm belief is that our country is in great need of young people in the private milieu, in the local administration, in the central administration, in politics in general. Unlike the past, today's young people are much more informed and more prepared to be involved in the life of the citadel than other generations and with this training, the obligation to get involved in the public life comes with the package. You, the ones who are here, you have already taken this step: you are involved, you have solid organisations which you represent and you have the obligation to give the people back the confidence that politics means, firstly, to put in all you force, energy and skills in the service of the citizen and the public interest, and for this, I wish you a lot of strength and determination," Iohannis stated. The President also remarked the presence of a large number of youngsters in the referendum on justice of 26 May. "You represent the young force of the most important party, currently in opposition, in Romania. And I want to congratulate you on the work done in the European Parliament elections and the referendum. Without your involvement, the PNL [the National Liberal Party] result would not have been the same. (...) The presence of young people in the Referendum in a very large number it's owed, a great deal, to the campaign you made and to the example you gave, and the result is extraordinary," the head of state said. He told the youngsters attending the TNL Summer School that "complicated electoral battles" are to come in the next period. "We stand before some complicated electoral battles, over a few months we have presidential elections, we will have local elections, we will have parliamentary elections. I invite you together with me to win all these elections. After the PSD [the Social Democratic Party] disaster that stole Romania for years the chance for development, the citizens want an effective government that will bring them security, prosperity, welfare and with your help they will have it. You are the generation that can bring enthusiasm, hope, but also optimism in politics and in the Romanian society. The rebuilding of hope in a better future is an absolutely necessary condition without which the development of the country has no way to succeed. I am confident in Romania's destiny because I see here with me future mayors, current and future parliamentarians and, certainly, future ministers and, who knows, maybe even more," Iohannis showed. In his view, Romania will be sentenced to stagnation if the opinions, expectations and necessities of the young generation are not to be taken into account. "We often hear this, talking about the lack of potential or the lack of performing human capital in the nurseries of the Romanian political parties. It is the argument frequently invoked by those representatives of the political class who refuse to take the step back - and we have a few recent examples in this regard - to allow young people to come up with new ideas, with ideas that reinvigorate the political space. This is a damaging approach that must be fought firmly, because Romania will be condemned to stagnation if it does not take into account the opinions, expectations and needs of the young generation. Therefore, I urge you not to give up, be ambitious, persevere in your goals and you will succeed in imposing your points of view," the President stated. AGERPRES (RO - author: Roberto Stan, editor: George Onea; EN - editor: Rodica State)