Bolojan's farewell: “the most important reform was that we governed without lying”

Caretaker Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan gave an almost hour-long press conference at the Victoria Palace in Bucharest on Monday evening, one day before the parliamentary confidence vote on the Niculescu government, to take stock of his sixteen months in office. According to the former mayor of Oradea, he took over a country that was “backed into a corner,” with a record deficit — not only in the budget but also in trust — and he is now handing his successor a Romania set on the right path to recovery. He named his most important reform not as any single measure, but as “a different way of governing,” one that operated “without lies, false expectations and populism,” and with respect for public money. He thanked Romanians for bearing the burdens and said their effort had been worthwhile. He showed no mercy toward the PSD, however: in his view, the Social Democrats sabotaged the reforms and brought down his government because it had begun to harm the interests of the old system, and they have already forgotten their own promises.

According to Bolojan, in June 2025 no one was clamoring for the prime minister's chair. The deficit stood at 9.3 percent, economic growth was driven solely by credit-financed consumption, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) had stalled, and there was a risk of losing EU funds. Society was divided after the annulment of the elections, and there was a real danger that the country would become insolvent. The European Commission and the markets no longer believed the promises and expected immediate measures, so the government started by raising VAT.

he said. He acknowledged that some decisions were difficult, and that behind every figure there is a family, an employee, an entrepreneur or a pensioner who recalculated their expenses and felt their standard of living decline.

He backed up the results with data. In the first eight months of this year, the deficit was 78.5 billion lei, compared with 102.5 billion last year, a reduction of 1.53 percentage points relative to GDP. The country avoided a downgrade by the credit rating agencies, so it can still finance its deficit; investments rose from 82 billion to 107 billion lei, more than two-thirds of which came from EU projects, while personnel expenses fell by 4.3 billion lei to 122 billion. He did not deny the decline in consumption and growth, but said that credit-fueled consumption had been “toxic,” and that the government had broken free of that lie. He blamed the indebtedness on previous governments' accelerated borrowing and high interest rates, and attributed inflation partly to the correction and partly to crises outside Romania. He said the recovery plan had been taken over stalled, with overpriced contracts and on the verge of failure, but the government had renegotiated and restarted it. Romania has so far received 65 percent of the funding envelope, and with two payment requests still under review, this could rise to 90 percent. According to Bolojan, it could have reached nearly 100 percent had the PSD not blocked the adoption of the unified pay law in August, which cost the country 770 million euros. The northeastern Romanian highway projects were moved into the EU's SAFE defense program, because otherwise they would have been left without funding.

Among the reforms, he highlighted streamlining the public administration, curbing privileges, introducing performance requirements for state-owned companies, reducing bureaucracy through digitalization, and reforming magistrates' pensions. On the latter, he said no one before him had dared to tackle it, and that he “did not back down a single step, even though we are still paying the price for it today.” According to him, the PSD began sabotaging the government once it saw that the program was being taken seriously: for instance, it delayed the administrative reform for months, until February of this year.

he said. He added that he had long remained silent in the face of unjust and false attacks, because nothing could be more important than the next law, the next PNRR milestone, and a further reduction of the deficit. He also did not want to jeopardize the rating agencies' assessment with political conflicts. Perhaps the most important part of his speech was when Bolojan denied leaving any debt behind, listing five structural problems that every future government will have to face.

1. The first is the burden of final court rulings resulting from thousands of lawsuits filed by judges and prosecutors, including one that obliges the government to pay out more than 5 billion lei. According to Bolojan, no government can pay this off overnight, and as long as the unified pay law does not rule out such lawsuits, the problem cannot be solved.

2. The second is the legacy of the 2021 electricity compensation scheme, from which bills not verified by the energy regulator (ANRE) are still arriving. This year 3.7 billion lei were set aside for this, of which 1.5 billion has already been paid out, and the burden will persist in the coming years as well.

3. The third is healthcare, where for years 6.5 million people paid contributions while 16.5 million used the services. Today 10.5 million people pay in, and this year the system is coming close to balance for the first time, though the poor management of hospitals could only be fixed by incorporating wage costs into the price of services.

4. The fourth is the overcontracting of investments. The transport operational program was over-committed by more than 300 percent; the transport ministry has more than 30 billion euros' worth of contracts running, while the average annual budget is around 6 billion euros — meaning at least five years' worth of work has already been locked in. Bolojan said the 2.4 billion lei in unpaid invoices under the Anghel Saligny program could be settled without difficulty through a budget adjustment.

5. The fifth is the management of state-owned companies: firms that have been postponing reforms for years, such as the national railway company (CFR) or the Bucharest metro operator (Metrorex), apply for supplementary subsidies at the end of every year.

In closing, he said he does not claim to have been flawless, but he is leaving with the feeling of having done his duty. If, however, the next government ignores the lessons learned and returns to the old unhealthy habits, it will only be a matter of time before Romania gets into trouble again.

Meanwhile, officials backed by the PNL are resigning one after another. Government spokeswoman Ioana Dogioiu requested her dismissal on Monday, with the government's mandate having expired. At the press conference she said she would not enter politics and would not become a member of any party. She is, however, keeping her seat on the public radio's board of directors, since she was appointed there by parliament and represents the government there, not the PNL. Cristina Pocora, state counselor at the prime minister's chancellery, has also resigned, as has Daniel Șandru, director of the institute investigating the crimes of communism (IICCMER), whose dismissal takes effect on October 21. The prefects of Vrancea, Constanța and Bistrița-Năsăud counties are also stepping down. According to Bolojan, the decisions on the dismissals were sent to the Official Gazette on Monday evening, though in a few cases, at Luca Niculescu's request, officials will remain for one or two weeks to ensure a smooth handover. PNL members working at state companies who won their positions through competitive examinations, however, will stay until the end of their terms.

Questions and answers from the press conference, in brief

Shouldn't you admit that you failed as a political leader, given the people who lost their jobs, the interference in the justice system and the criminal cases?

Bolojan said his government proved that Romania can be governed differently: waste can be curbed, the same rules can apply to everyone, and people can be told the truth. He called the rest of it “accusations.”

Was it justified to pay a TV star and an influencer 6,000 euros each at the Oradea festival?

Local authorities decide their own budgets and are themselves accountable for them before the law and before voters. The government has no say in this.

Will spokeswoman Ioana Dogioiu enter politics, and what will happen to her position at the public radio broadcaster?

She will not join any party. She has not resigned, but rather requested her dismissal with the end of the government's mandate. She keeps her seat on the public radio's board of directors, since she was appointed there by parliament and represents the government there, not the PNL.

On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate the PSD's performance in the coalition?

He gave no number. He said the coalition worked in the first months, but deteriorated once the focus shifted from revenues to cutting spending and eliminating privileges. In his view, bringing down the government and the nearly six-month transition period did not serve Romania's interests.

Do you regret any of the measures you took?

No. What remains unfinished is the structural reduction of state spending, especially in the ministries.

What will happen to the officials backed by the PNL, the people working at the 43 state companies, and the villa in the Primăverii neighborhood?

He will leave the villa within the legal deadline. The state secretaries, agency heads and prefects will step down this week, with a few staying for up to two weeks at Niculescu's request. Civil servants and company managers appointed through competitive examinations may remain until the end of their terms. Asked exactly how many state secretaries would be leaving, he said 12 dismissals are currently awaiting signature.

Could the debts arising from judges' lawsuits and those owed to energy companies, which together amount to nearly 20 billion lei, not have been rescheduled?

He considers the judges' lawsuits and the amounts awarded in them to be immoral. He did not give a substantive answer to the question about any attempt at negotiation.

Do you also consider the funds earmarked for the radiotherapy center and MRI machine in Oradea to have been irresponsible?

The ministry must first guarantee funding for essential services, such as emergency departments and ambulances, and can only allocate the remainder freely. In 2026, the emergency department at Floreasca Hospital received less than half of last year's budget. Health Minister Attila Cseke can confirm that they jointly called contractors back to the hospital construction sites.

Did raising VAT damage your relationship with Nicușor Dan, and did you end up isolated?

Every decision-maker in Romania recognizes the necessity of the VAT increase. He worked with the president within an institutional framework of cooperation. For a difficult task, any support is welcome.

What is the PNL's plan after the budget — will there be a motion of no confidence?

The PNL will be in opposition. If the government maintains fiscal discipline and the credit rating reviews at the start of next year go well, the situation will be calmer. If not, the PNL will react “one way or another.” He is not drawing any red lines, because he heard too many of those over the past year, and every single one turned out to be harmful.

Why specifically will no motion of no confidence be submitted until March 1, 2027?

Because if the submission of the budget slips to December, any budget could be passed by then.

Do you feel responsible for the recession?

Deficit reduction is never achieved anywhere in the world without an economic downturn. They took this on, which is why no one was clamoring for the prime minister's post. If this isn't done, the country ends up in a dead end.

Was your cooperation with Bogos institutional?

No. If an official receives someone once at a hearing, that cannot be called cooperation.

Do you support the 7.3 percent pension increase, the public-sector pay rise, or extending the fuel subsidy?

He is not a populist. The new government program no longer includes either the VAT cut or VAT-free fuel for farmers. After two years of freezes, indexation is hard to avoid, but the best solution would have been the unified pay law. The deficit must stay below 5.3 percent, and funding must be shown for every additional expenditure.

How do you think you will be remembered?

He considers himself a decent man. Leaving a lasting mark requires great deeds and time. Romania has had ten prime ministers in ten years.

What will Romania look like at the end of Niculescu's term — will it resemble Oradea more, or Craiova?

That should be asked of Niculescu; he does not make judgments.

Sources: G4Media, HotNews