PNL's Orban: President can solve crisis today; simple solution: 15 minute tete-a-tete

President Klaus Iohannis can solve the political crisis today, with all the tools at his disposal and the constitutional obligation to get involved, Chairman of the National Liberal Party (PNL) Ludovic Orban said on Wednesday. According to him, "the coalition is currently in a cease fire". "The president can solve the crisis today. He has everything he needs to solve the crisis and it is his constitutional prerogative, it is his constitutional obligation to get involved in resolving the crisis. The solution is simple: a 15-minute tete-a-tete, in the sense of unblocking the situation. I am carrying out institutional communication with the president. My colleagues, who are blocking the constitutional procedure of the censure motion and turning themselves into a human shield, all say that they are marching under President Iohannis' banner. President Iohannis can convince my colleagues of the things I see that I cannot convince them are constitutional and it is Romania's fundamental interest," the PNL leader said. Ludovic Orban went on to say that anyone who knows the constitutional duties of the head of state and the political situation in Romania knows that "it is the president's task to intervene in such a situation. The president certainly has the opportunity to solve the crisis, not after September 25, but today, if he wants to". In his opinion, Romania's image is "rumpled" externally. "Now the ruling coalition is in a cease fire. Every day that passes in which Romania is affected by this political crisis produces extremely negative effects on Romania. In terms of the external image, Romania's image is rumpled, everyone is wondering what is the matter with this political crisis, investors are thinking seven times whether to invest in Romania, not to mention that it is possible for some to get away, for some of the investors to leave. Rating agencies, you have seen the stance of Fitch and Standard & Poor's, we have thus created the conditions for downgrading, for losing the rating. We make the most expensive loans in the EU countries anyway, with 3.74, the last thing we need would be for a decision to be made at the level of the rating agencies during the evaluation and we lose the rating," explained the PNL leader. The political crisis has also affected the exchange rate, he added. "Obviously, it is clear that this political crisis has affected the exchange rate. Despite the massive interventions of the BNR [National Bank of Romania], the leu has decreased for a long time, so the effects are extremely negative, the crisis must be resolved as soon as possible," said the PNL leader . "Rebuilding the coalition is very simple. The USR PLUS party, which has practically left the coalition temporarily, has voiced a condition they cannot get past. In order to rebuild the coalition, that condition must be resolved. Things are very simple. There is nothing complicated. From our point of view there are only three solutions for Romania: we rebuild the coalition, we accept a deal with PSD [Social Democratic Party], as it seems to be happening on the part of some of my colleagues, (...) or the opposition. As far as I am concerned, it is best to rebuild the coalition and invest in a Government with full exercise capacity, because we are facing extremely serious challenges that cannot be faced by a Government that is limping," Orban added. He stressed that he is "definitely" against an agreement with PSD, either "aboveboard or under-the-table". It damages Romania and will dramatically affect PNL's image. For this reason, I am once again asking my colleagues not to play under-the-table games with PSD, because they damage Romania and the PNL," he added. AGERPRES (RO - author: Alina Novaceanu, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author: Catalin Cristian Trandafir, editor: Simona Iacob)