Prime Minister’s resignation would have affected Romania’s image internationally, says Saxon PM

Romania’s image at an international level would have been affected if the country’s Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu decided to resign, said Stanislaw Tillich, Prime Minister of the German Land of Saxony, during a press conference organized in Sibiu. “You have a Constitution, you have laws that specify how a Prime Minister is elected or dismissed, and they don’t stipulate that a party leader can take this decision. The Prime Minister took into account the law in this case, and it’s important for Romania's image that the law governs the country,” said Stanislaw Tillich, reports local Agerpres. The Saxon Prime Minister previously congratulated Sorin Grindeanu on his decision to not resign from the position of Prime Minister during their meeting on Thursday, June 15. “Congratulations on your last evening's decision,” Stanislaw Tillich told the Romanian Prime Minister during their meeting at the Romanian Government. The Saxon Prime Minister’s statements came after Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu refused to resign at his party’s request. Earlier this week, the leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD), Liviu Dragnea, announced in a press conference that the Government has failed to pass an internal analysis of its activity, and thus the party and its coalition partner ALDE decided to withdraw the cabinet’s political support. While almost all the ministers resigned, the Prime Minister refused to do the same, which brought him the exclusion from PSD the next day. Moreover, PSD’s executive committee, made of 68 political leaders of the party, also voted to initiate a no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister. The vote should take place next week. On Thursday evening, Sorin Grindeanu said in a press conference that although PSD’s executive committee decided to exclude him from the party, he would still remain a Social Democrat, as he has been a member of the PSD for 21 years. Moreover, he demanded the resignation of the PSD leader Liviu Dragnea, saying that if Dragnea steps down from the party's helm, he will do the same. On Friday, Grindeanu again asked for Dragnea’s resignation via a photo posted on his Facebook page, which was saying #dragneademisia (Dragnea resign). Former Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who is also a member of PSD, was among those who shared the photo. Later on Friday, Grindeanu appointed Ponta as the Government’s General Secretary.