The authoritarian excesses of the PSD. Events in the judiciary, the economy, the press and Parliament

PSD Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on Friday gave his first directive on the judiciary and asked the DIICOT to prioritize the investigation into the „horror” senior homes. It is the first skid in justice, but it adds to a series of gestures that show the PSD’s authoritarian temptation: interference in the market economy, large-scale media buying, de facto suppression of parliamentary debate and silencing of real opposition.

„I will have a request to the Minister of Justice, because it is not in my attributions, to have a very clear discussion with the DIICOT leadership, so that this investigation is a priority,” was the directive given Friday at the beginning of the government meeting by Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.

And Justice Minister Alina Gorghiu discussed the same day with the DIICOT chief prosecutor about „the age of the case and the expected timeframe for resolution”. „There was no interference in the investigation,” Gorghiu said.

Why is the prime minister’s request a slippage? Because the act of justice is independent, and the prosecutor alone sets the pace of the investigation. Of course, given the public emotion surrounding the „horror” senior huses, there is a temptation to accept such a request from the prime minister. But this is about respecting a principle. And if we accept now that the principle of the independence of the prosecutor can be defeated, the situation can be repeated at any time on another subject.

Economy: PSD’s interference in the rules of the market economy. One of Prime Minister Ciolacu’s first decisions was to cap the commercial mark-up on producers and shops by emergency ordinance. I explained here why this is a flawed political decision that ignores the basic principle of the free economy: prices are set by the market, not by politicians. The experience of neighboring Hungary shows that a similar decision has led to shortages and market distortions.

In parallel, the PSD has revived the state trade project invented by Liviu Dragnea. The bankrupt Unirea Trading House, under the Ministry of Agriculture, has been given a new role: managing the 15 new vegetable collection centres.

Last year, the government revived the Unirea Trading House, a bankrupt initiative of the Dancila government, promoted by Petre Daea and Liviu Dragnea, to set up state-owned grocery stores. In 2019, Casa de Comerț Unirea had revenues of less than 2 million lei, but expenses of 9 million lei.

Mainstream media, silenced. The PSD and PNL spent more than 90 million lei on press and propaganda in 2022 alone, according to AEP data. This is state subsidy money spent by the two governing parties on contracts with the press, a quasi-generalized phenomenon that has led to the establishment of self-censorship in most media trusts. The PSD paid 53 million lei to the press, the PNL – 38.5 million lei, without adding the contracts signed by ministries, state companies, town halls and county councils controlled by the two parties.

The result? The press, the main counterweight to politicians’ blunders, is largely silenced. In most of the trusts owned by media moguls, PSD and PNL leaders are constantly protected, investigations have completely disappeared, and media coverage is positive or neutral.

Parliamentary debate has been stifled. The best examples are the hearings of ministers, which have become mere formalities. Within minutes, ministers are put through a mock dialogue by the PSD-PNL majority, bypassing all problematic questions from the opposition.

The second example is from last week, when, on the Prime Minister’s orders, the special pensions law was rushed through Parliament. Despite protests from the USR, the law passed through the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies on the same day in a procedure bordering on the rules.

Silencing the Opposition. USR, the main opposition party by number of seats in Parliament, is boycotted by the majority of TV stations with large audiences, according to monitoring by CNA, the arbiter of the audiovisual market.

Such behaviour by the big broadcasters makes no commercial sense. In any democracy, revelations or accusations made by opposition parties are the salt and pepper of political debates, they attract audiences. In Romania, however, the PSD’s and PNL’s buying of the press includes ignoring the opposition.

In an extremely dangerous development last week, the head of the Permanent Electoral Authority, Toni Greblă (a leading member of the PSD until his appointment) decided to stop funding the PMP a few days after the party led by Eugen Tomac announced negotiations for an alliance with USR.

It should be noted, however, that the main PSD-funded TV channels give ample space to extremist and populist leaders such as George Simion or Diana Șoșoaca. Their drifting, shouting and screaming are presented daily, with a double purpose.

Firstly, the exhibition of Simion and Șoșoaca is meant to prove that there is opposition in Romania, so the mouths of those who would claim boycotting USR are shut. Secondly, AUR and Șoșoaca are an easy opponent for the PSD, which will appeal to the population not to vote for an extremist party and to choose the path of reason.