Orban: Resignation before end of term not to draw special pension, demagoguery, blatant lie

National chairman of the National Liberal Party (PNL) Prime Minister Ludovic Orban on Monday evening described as demagogic the approach of the lawmakers who announced that they will resign before the end of their term in office in order not to draw a special pension, claiming that that is "a lie and "dust thrown in the eyes of voters." "This demagoguery with the resignation before the end of the term in office so that you no longer draw a special pension is simply a blatant lie. (...) It is dust thrown in the eyes of the voters and, unfortunately, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) national chairman and other PSD leaders are not the only ones flirting with such demagogic positions in full swing of electioneering. I am literally shocked by the total disrespect of PSD towards the Romanians, towards the people," Orban said on Monday evening, in a phone-in on Realitatea Plus. He said he did not believe PSD could be capable of "such false demagoguery." "First of all, Mr Ciolacu and the other PSD members who announced that they will resign so that they do not qualify for a special pension: most of them have more terms in offices than one, so they already qualify for a special pension. Mr Ciolacu has a full 2012 - 2016 term, and the ongoing one is his second. It is not true that whoever resigns does not qualify for a special pension. Mr Ciolacu will have pension benefits calculated for this term minus one day. (...) It is PSD that invented special pensions. The law on lawmakers was amended and special pensions were introduced in the last legislature, with PNL being the only party that voted against," said Orban. The PNL chairman pointed out that the solution to get rid of special pensions is not for someone to resign before the end of their term. "There is a very simple solution and I am asking Mr Ciolacu, if we want to abolish the special pensions for lawmakers - since they still have a parliamentary majority - to convene a joint session of the standing bureaus this week and together to adopt one of the bills proposing amending the law on lawmakers repealing Article 49, so that no lawmaker or former lawmaker qualify for a special pension. This demagoguery with the resignation before the end of the terms so that you no longer receive a special pension is simply a blatant lie," said Orban. AGERPRES (RO - author: Andreea Rotaru, editor: Antonia Nita; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)