A broken escalator at Bucharest’s Otopeni Airport seems to be an international problem for former Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who said on Facebook that he would tell European Commission President Jean-Calude Juncker to ask the Romanian authorities to fix this escalator.

Juncker will be in Romania on Thursday, May 11, to meet President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu, and to address the Romanian Parliament. He will also participate in a public debate about the future of the European Union.

In his Facebook post, Victor Ponta says that the escalator in question hasn’t been functional since October last year, despite the fact that both the Government and the Transport Ministry changed their leadership.

Ponta was Prime Minister from May 2012 until November 2015, when he resigned amid street protests after the Colectiv club tragedy. After his resignation, he also lost his influence in the Social Democratic Party (PSD), which he also led until 2015, and is now a critic of the party's leadership and of the PSD-ALDE Government.

“Beyond this embarrassing aspect for the “European” Romania, it hurts to see elderly people climbing with their luggage until they reach the endless and inevitable infernal line at Passports,” reads the Facebook post on Victor Ponta’s page.

In an ironic tone, the former Prime Minister continues by saying that he would tell the EC President to ask the Romanian authorities to fix this escalator. “On Thursday, at the Parliament, I will go to Mr. Juncker to ask him to talk to Mr. Iohannis, who in turn should talk to Mr. Grindeanu, who in turn should talk to the transport minister (I don’t know his name), who in turn should talk to his cabinet chief, whom he just named chief at the Otopeni Airport (on “competence” criteria, of course) to fix the escalator. Not forever, just until Mr. Juncker leaves!!!”

“If Juncker doesn’t succeed, then I will ask Mr. Trump! Then, I will ask Angela Merkel or even Macron (even though they’re not passing through Romania too often),” Ponta added.

Meanwhile, Liviu Dragnea, the leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD), said that he wants Romania to host the European Medicines Agency, and will officially ask the EC President for this, reports local Mediafax. The Romanian Government approved a memorandum on this topic in March.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Victor Ponta on Facebook)