Iohannis to MPs: I suggest an election year without populisms or haphazard measures

President Klaus Iohannis on Monday suggested to the MPs a year without populisms or haphazard measures, inviting them to take up some major themes. 

"I suggest a different election year, without populisms or lost for themes of interest, and also without haphazard measures. I suggest the year 2016 should be a time when electoral competition will not exclude long-term construction, when the fever of electioneering does not halt civil debates and spectacular daily topics does not eliminate themes of major interest to the citizens and their lives from the public agenda. (...) I am inviting you to join me in taking up some major themes: first is starting to regain trust in politics; the second regards the operation of organisations in a democratic state; the third regards continuing efforts is areas where Romania has made progress and won its foreign partners' respect; in the area of big systems I suggest we lay some cornerstones on which to build in 2017, irrespective of who will be at rule," Iohannis told a plenary session of Parliament. 

He added that election years have unfortunately brought a certain kind of practices in Romania. 

Iohannis pointed out that in 2016 the MPs stand a big chance of doing things differently. 

"We are in a context unlike the past when the end of term in office may mean more attention, more responsibility and more preoccupation with genuinely listening to what our fellow citizens want," he said. 

The President mentioned that all this are part of joint action and not the will on one man. 

Iohannis said this year's elections are the first opportunity for a renewal of attitudes, ideas and people, with the political parties being the main actors. 

He pointed out that legislative instability affects more than just the operation of the economy, society and big public systems such as education, and it starts being a vulnerability of the democratic system. AGERPRES