“I have been in the PNL for over 30 years. I have been through good times and bad. I have rejoiced in our victories and the successes of our mayors. I have been saddened by the failures and the wrong decisions,” Bolojan wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
The Liberal leader stated that, in over 20 years of administration, he has come to the conclusion that “you cannot modernize a community or a country without good governance and a liberal imprint.”
“I have proven this in Oradea and in many places across the country. I tried it in Bucharest as well,” he said.
Bolojan recalled two moments he considers defining for the party. The first was the 2021 PNL leadership meeting at Vila Lac, when the alliance with the PSD was decided.
“The PNL leadership meeting at Vila Lac. Several people were absent. The then-PNL president, Florin Cîțu, after having been ‘elected’ on an anti-PSD platform, puts the formation of the alliance with the PSD to a vote. Who is in favor? Few raise their hands, ashamed. The votes are not counted. Who is against? Few raise their hands. These votes are counted. Although the majority did not raise their hands to any question, Cîțu concluded that the difference between those present and those who voted against meant a vote in favor of the alliance with the PSD. The decisions had been made in other offices; the PNL leadership was merely formalizing them. The waters were muddied and stirred up. What followed and where these decisions led us, by the end of 2024, is well known. We had a close call…”
He compared that episode to the extended meeting of the PNL leadership held on May 5, during which a vote was taken to sever ties with the PSD.
“After warning the PSD that they were leading the country into a crisis and that we would no longer cooperate with them if they did so, as president of the PNL I put to a vote the decision to end our coalition with them and join the opposition. After a debate with back-and-forth arguments, who is in favor? 50 colleagues raise their hands. I saw in the eyes of many their regained dignity. Who is against? Not a single hand raised. 4 did not vote. We have parted ways. The waters have cleared. The decision was made in the PNL leadership office, not in other offices.”
Bolojan states that PNL has regained its self-respect.
According to Bolojan, with this decision, “the PNL has regained what no position and no poll can buy: self-respect. It is the first condition for regaining the trust of Romanians. I know that the road ahead will not be easy and that there are no results without effort, without a team, and without overcoming difficulties. But I am convinced that the PNL has chosen the right path.”
“I will work, together with all my colleagues, to ensure that the PNL once again becomes a party in which many Romanians place their hope and which can truly contribute to the modernization of Romania,” he said.
He described the PNL as “a party that may make mistakes, but that never abandons its country. A party that does not shy away from responsibility. A party that understands that politics is not just about power, but the obligation to help Romania stand on its own feet in the long term.”
“With seriousness. With decency. With faith. With respect for work, for freedom, and for the dignity of the people. And the National Liberal Party will remain where it has always been in the difficult moments of history: on Romania’s side. May God help us!” concluded Bolojan.
MAI MULT MEDIAFAX
