Ponta: Had I been elected President in 2014, I wouldn’t have appointed Dancila Premier, I wouldn’t have let Dragnea at the helm of the House, and I wouldn’t have appointed Ecaterina Andronescu Education Minister again

Ex-Premier Victor Ponta has said that four years ago he phoned Klaus Iohannis and congratulated him for his victory in the presidential elections and has claimed that he cannot say whether Iohannis has confirmed the expectations of those who voted for him, since he is subjective. Ponta added that had he been elected President in 2014 he would not have appointed Viorica Dancila Premier, would not have allowed Liviu Dragnea to hold the office of House Speaker, and would not have appointed Ecaterina Andronescu Education Minister again. “Four years ago to the day, I phoned Mr Iohannis, congratulated him and sincerely wished him success in all the projects he had for Romania. That’s how I considered we should behave in a democratic country / even now I believe I did the right thing. I once again thank the more than 5 million Romanians who had confidence in me and voted for me / and I have absolutely no kind of resentment toward those who did not support me back then but stood by the side of Mr Iohannis; on the contrary, these years I’ve tried to understand what I did wrong and why I made them vote against me (and in many points I managed to see what I wasn’t able to see back then)!”, Victor Ponta wrote on Facebook on Friday evening. He claims that, in 2018, Romania is in an economic, social and political situation that is “much worse” than it was in 2014, on a track “that is wrong from a democratic standpoint and from the standpoint of our development,” but “this is not just the President’s fault but probably the fault of us all.” “For Irina, Andrei and Daciana it is much better that I’m not President and I have time for us as a family!”, Ponta added. He says he cannot say whether Iohannis has confirmed the voters’ expectations or not, since he is subjective. “Whether Mr Iohannis has confirmed or not the expectations of those who voted for him, I’m definitely not the one who can say, because I’m subjective. Only those who supported him can do that…,” Ponta wrote. He also states that three things would not have taken place had he been elected President. “If I may smile in the face of adversity / there are 3 things that definitely WOULD NOT have happened had I been elected President in 2014: 1. I wouldn’t have appointed Ms Dancila Prime Minister (slot 9 on the list of MEPs was already more than enough). 2. I wouldn’t have allowed Mr Liviu Dragnea to be Speaker of the House (he asked me for this office in 2013 and 2014 and I refused him each time, asking him to handle the things he is good at). 3. I wouldn’t have appointed Ms Andronescu Education Minister again (in December 2012 I asked her to support a minister from a different generation, Remus Pricopie, who had more energy needed to reform the system for the future). Anything else however, the what ifs, I don’t know and I can’t tell you,” Victor Ponta wrote.

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