President Ion Iliescu yesterday presented before Parliament his first report since being elected President two years ago and several projections for the next two years.
Furthermore, 13 years of post-revolutionary political involvement later, Ion Iliescu came with a completely new political message before the MPs, ministers and advisors yesterday. The speech delivered by President Iliescu, as well as his attitude, were completely different from the previous appearances. The political leader gave up the diplomatic message and chose a very straightforward approach. Surprisingly for Ion Iliescu - the politician, he was shockingly clear. And he hardly smiled.
"My message is let's break this red tape chain as soon as possible, since it negatively impacts on the economy and on the social relations," Iliescu said.
"We must break this nepotism capitalism that has grown in Romania, where a group of self-serving individuals are leeching onto the State's finances, nationalising their losses and appropriating the profits," the President added.
Iliescu feels the economic priority is embracing reforms that can lead to the establishment of a functional market economy, a basic requirement for EU accession. This entails, the chief of state says, stabilising, simplifying and observing the economic legislative framework and creating an alluring investment climate.
The President said that, as far as his constitutional duties had allowed him, he had supported all those economic and social policies that targeted sustainable development, sustained economic growth, macroeconomic balances, curbing inflation and unemployment, the domestic currency stability, fighting poverty, reviving investments, stimulating domestic consumption and exports.
The most important message the President conveyed yesterday spoke about fighting corruption by means of a "shock therapy", which had to be directed against the structural causes of corruption, such as: illegal competition, all sorts of administrative obstacles artificially erected by progressively multiplied bureaucracy and the taxation system.
He warned there was a real danger that Romania could be regarded as an unfit European accession candidate and be pushed aside unless it made fast and visible progress in fighting corruption.
One of the failures Iliescu admitted to was not having solved the retrocession of the property abusively seized. "It is not the lack of political will that is to blame here," he says, specifying Parliament had enacted a series of normative acts in this regard.
The political priority is improving the state institutions and the good governance mechanisms, the President feels. Iliescu has decided to dedicate the next two years to devising a strategy draft for Romania's sustainable development.
The President also explained that the spread of stifling bureaucracy generates serious problems, delays, dissatisfaction and economic losses.
