Geoană, NATO’s Deputy Secretary-General, Address PSD’s Discomfort with Favorable Polls

Mircea Geoană, NATO’s Deputy Secretary-General, made a statement on Friday, acknowledging that PSD is “disturbed” by opinion polls favorable to his potential candidacy for the presidency in Cotroceni. Regarding this possible candidacy in the presidential elections, Geoană mentioned that he is “closer to a decision.”

Mircea Geoană: I Confront PSD Attacks with Detachment and Calmness

Mircea Geoană, NATO’s deputy, stated on Friday that he confronts the PSD attacks towards him with a sense of “detachment,” estimating that the social democrats are “disturbed” by the polls. “I confront them with detachment and much calm. Probably, the polls bother them, or they have other calculations that I am not aware of. I do not want to engage in any controversy; I have a job to do, and I want to finish it under conditions as good as in the last five years. And Romanian politics will follow its conclusion,” Geoană declared on Digi 24.

“I Believe They Are Afraid of Contact with Citizens”

The Deputy Secretary-General of NATO stated that the social democrats play a political game that does not reflect the “interest of the people” and that they are afraid to engage with people on the streets, while the political discourse does not offer solutions for Bucharest or debates concerning the European Parliament elections. “I believe they are afraid of contact with citizens; this is my feeling. Each time there is a consolidation of local and European parliamentary elections…I regret enormously that I do not hear any discussion about solutions for Bucharest, for example. Or an ideological and political discussion about Europe. We send a significant number of MEPs there, as if this does not exist. We are not interested in who represents us, how credible the people who represent us are? I rather believe that at the moment, it is a political game that has nothing to do with the interest of the people,” Geoană stated.

“The Country Needs a Profound Change”

Geoană mentioned that the PSD’s attacks are probably related to the polls favorable to a candidacy for Cotroceni, commenting in the context where Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has expressed his “conviction” that Mircea Geoană will run in the presidential elections. “I am glad he has strong convictions; it is very good to have firm convictions in life. I have an extremely firm belief that the country is approaching the end of a political cycle and needs a profound change to move forward. Another belief is that our political class has lagged behind the societal transformation, and a much greater effort is needed to change things,” Geoană declared.

“Perhaps Some Feel Electoral and Political Threats”

The NATO Deputy specified that concerning a possible presidential candidacy, he will decide after finishing his mandate within the Alliance. “Perhaps some feel electoral and political threats; I am extremely calm, I mind my own business, and after finishing the job at NATO, I will make a final decision, and I am convinced that this can create a bit of emotion, of agitation in the system, which is not a bad thing. I am closer to a decision, I do not give percentages,” he mentioned.

Mircea Geoană also mentioned that the country’s economic situation is not as good as the government assures, and the electorate is frustrated that politicians do not work for them and seek a change, which explains his strong position in the polls.

“I am concerned about what is happening in the country at the moment. I see that there is an obvious macroeconomic difficulty right now; inflation is high. I believe we need to be careful because both in the economy and especially in the sentiment of Romanian citizens, the feeling is that politics today is done for politicians and not for the people. The main frustration and motivation for the fact that I am doing well in polls and that there is a need for profound change. (…) I have said on several occasions, and I say it now, I have no announcement to make, it is a much too beautiful holiday to engage in political debate, but it is clear that the current political system is outdated by societal changes, people feel the need for something else,” Geoană further stated.