Good governance principle: Let’s quit hypocrisy! What next: are we going to legalize drugs and corruption, not only the practice of changing directors of de-concentrated services on political criteria?

Bucharest, April, 29, 2009 ■ Emergency Ordinance no. 37/2009 regarding the removal of directors of Ministries’ territorial services has entered to force and, once it has been adopted, Romania enters a new era, that of total subordination to the political parties. Money, experts and other resources allocated for stability and professionalization of civil service over the last 8 years, even before Romania joined EU, were a waist. It wouldn’t be the first time in Romania, as going back to the past is a common practice for some political forces, no matter the price paid by the whole Romanian society.

Monitoring the political arena of 2009, we are disappointed to see that it was not for nothing that the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Democrat Liberal Party (PDL) have won a paramount majority in the Parliament. Unfortunately, the winning is only materializing for members and party supporters to whom the two main parties have “dedicated” the present Emergency Ordinance regarding the removal of directors of de-concentrated services on political criteria. As far as the management objectives of the individual contracts of the new directors are concerned, which should derive from national priorities and the governance program, we cannot even speak about something like that. Performance criteria from the management contracts of the new rulers will remain probably as obscure as the national sector priorities of the ministries, which have been forgotten by the ruling coalition. Right after the taking over of offices by the new directors, IPP will ask for their contracts to be made public.

“Let’s quit hypocrisy!”, says a notorious political leader, known for his intentions of subordinating even elected local authorities to his power as a President of County Council.

In order to quit hypocrisy, the Institute for Public Policy (IPP) has adopted the present public statement towards the recent political decisions affecting local public administration, adopted by the Boc Cabinet. We remind our politicians that they are not there forever and that decisions adopted exclusively for political clientele are turning not only against the course of reform that Romania had started, but also against them, as the society feels that such decisions are targeting to completely subordinate the state and confiscate public institutions for narrow, obscure party interests. We will continue to monitor the successes that the current Government has announced once the new directors, whom have as main qualities a party membership book and the mobile phone always available for the political leader whom has appointed him/her, will endorse.

We are wondering why, in case it doesn’t matter how un-democratic and even illegal are some political decisions, the actual incumbent parties aren’t legalizing further other practices that are equally harmful for society, such as corruption or drugs. Does someone believe anymore that parties could not do something like this if the political or financial profit requests it?

For additional information, please contact Elena Iorga, Program Director,at +4 021 212 3126/7 or e-mail: elena@ipp.ro