PM-designate counters President Dan: Early elections not desirable, but neither keeping Romania in crisis

Prime minister-designate Siegfried Muresan, responding on Tuesday to remarks made by President Nicusor Dan just one day ahead of the parliamentary investiture vote, said that early elections are not desirable, but keeping Romania in a prolonged political crisis out of fear of snap polls "does not offer stability to citizens or confidence to investors who want to create jobs in Romania."Muresan wrote on Facebook: "Every statement made today by the President of Romania must be understood, taken seriously and deserves an answer from us. (...) 'Early elections are not a solution.' Early elections are not desirable, but keeping Romania in a prolonged political crisis out of fear of snap polls does not offer stability to citizens or confidence to investors who want to create jobs in Romania. If previous nominations had been made on time and had failed in Parliament, early elections could already have taken place and today we would have a government with a four-year mandate. We have lost precious time."Responding to the president's call that "it is time for this crisis to end" and that parties should "look beyond the party fence, to the national interest," Muresan said: "Our answer is 'Yes'. At this moment, the only certain solution to ending the crisis is voting for the government I have proposed. Any other option takes us back to the 5 May moment, without the guarantee that an alternative will quickly emerge. (...) That is precisely why PNL, USR and UDMR have jointly assumed responsibility for governing. Unfortunately, PSD continues to put party interest before Romania's interest. PSD triggered this crisis together with AUR and now refuses to help resolve it."Muresan also commented on the president's assertion that "Romania will maintain its financial trajectory; there is political consensus on this.""I wish that were the case. But responsibility toward the budget cannot be guaranteed through statements. We all know that populists will never support fiscal-budgetary responsibility. We saw the government that squandered public money and pushed the deficit to 9%. It can happen again. There was political consensus for implementing the NRRP and the SAFE programme, yet we later saw PSD oppose them. I can guarantee the responsibility of the government I have proposed and of the three parties supporting us. Parliament can end the crisis with a vote for this government."President Nicusor Dan said on Tuesday that the political crisis must end, stressing that early elections are not a solution: "It is time for this political crisis to end. It is time for parties to look beyond the party fence, to look to the national interest. Early elections are not a solution; on the contrary, they would prolong instability and mistrust among Romanian citizens and financial markets. Regardless of what happens, Romania will maintain its financial trajectory. There is political consensus on this."His remarks came one day before Parliament's joint session is due to vote on the governing programme and cabinet list proposed by designated prime minister Siegfried Muresan.