Far Right party AUR proposes in its government program the nationalization of OMV Petrom and other strategic companies / The establishment of real „People’s Tribunals” to „settle serious criminal cases and collective or class trials”

The far-right AUR party has made public its government program, which contains a series of populist measures, such as raising the minimum gross wage to 5000 lei in the next four years (from 3000 lei at present) or the nationalization of Petrom. AUR also proposes the creation of genuine „People’s Tribunals” to „settle serious criminal cases and collective or class trials”.

A similar idea was launched in the past by Dan Diaconescu’s party, and the election of Constitutional Court judges, the leadership of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the leadership of the High Court directly by citizens. Another idea borrowed this time from the PSD is „Made in Romania”, launched by the Nastase government in 2001 but which went bankrupt.

The government program was launched on Thursday at the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Mirceea Diaconu, Gheorghe Piperea, Petrișor Peiu, Norica Nicolai and Mircea Chelaru were present at the event, in addition to AUR leaders.

From the government program

• „We reject the tendency to centralise decisions at EU level”. Note: In this way, AUR is unequivocally positioning itself on the sovereigntist line, which is opposed to the idea of more Europe and to strengthening the role of Brussels in decision-making on the Community area.
• „The Romanian state will hold the majority of shares in companies in strategic areas, as well as in those that process natural resources, and Romanian citizens will have easy access and the right of pre-emption to buy shares in these companies.”
• „Majority stakes in OMV Petrom and other strategic companies will be gradually recovered through fair compensation, after all contractual obligations, including those from the sale, have been verified. „
• „Organize courts with juries made up of Romanian citizens of legal age and full legal capacity to settle serious criminal cases and class or collective lawsuits.”
• „Limit the influence of the political factor in justice by directly electing by the population the judges of the Constitutional Court, the leadership of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the leadership of the High Court of Cassation and Justice.”
• „Reintroduce compulsory school uniforms”
  The government programme has an entire chapter entitled Made in Romania, an idea launched by the PSD during the Nastase government, which AUR takes up and proposes measures to „protect local producers”.
• „The Sovereign Investment Fund will be responsible for the management of Romania’s natural resources, placing the sums collected in low-risk investments abroad, covering the deficit in the pension fund from the earnings obtained and investing in key areas of national interest (energy, steel, metallurgy). The Sovereign Wealth Fund will be organized as a state fund that can be capitalized with Romanian taxpayers’ money, allowing them to become shareholders.”
• „We strongly defend and enforce legislation that includes environmental protection in economic and social decision-making. We consider the environment part of Creation, interdependent with human life, not in opposition to it.”
• „Romania must ensure its energy sovereignty. Therefore, the use of fossil fuels and hydrocarbons (coal, gas, oil), hydro, nuclear, wind and solar energy will continue.” The proposal contradicts the EU’s decarbonization project, which calls for a phase-out of fossil fuels by 2030.

Background

It is not clear who are the authors of the government program, but it was presented by Gheorge Piperea and on the economic side, former Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici and economist Petrișor Peiu have collaborated with AUR over the years.

Nationalizations and the re-establishment of „People’s Tribunals” to judge „collective or class trials”, reminiscent of the 1950s, are ideas that have been used in the past by other extremist or ultra-populist parties such as PRM (Vadim Tudor) or PPDD (Dan Diaconescu).

The PPDD promised in 2012 that, if it came to power, it would proceed to the trial by a people’s court of the rulers who had plundered Romania.

According to Adevărul, the idea was floated by Corneliu Vadim Tudor in the 2000 election campaign.

Dan Diaconescu also proposed, as George Simion does now, the recovery of the „national wealth” by cancelling controversial privatisations.

Romania cannot cancel privatisation contracts because the signatory companies would sue the Romanian state, which would then be burdened with the cost of compensation. The proof: Romania is still losing today at the ECHR as a result of the Communist state’s violation of property rights.

AUR proposes a Sovereign Investment Fund, which would be „responsible for the management of Romania’s natural resources”, and from this money would support pensions and investments in key areas and Romanians would be able to become shareholders in this fund.

Ten years ago, Dan Diaconescu proposed the creation of the National Company ” People’s Wealth „, which would distribute equal dividends to all Romanians.