UPDATE/Dancila reproaches no-confidence motion supporters switching to ad-hominem attacks when gov't performance no longer deniable

Premier Viorica Dancila's message this Wednesday to the initiators of the no-confidence motion was that when they could no longer deny the pension and wage rises initiated by the government, they "took issue with the physical aspect, hairdo or clothing style of their political opponents."

"When you could no longer deny the benefit of pension and wage rises, you took issue with the physical appearance, hairdo or clothing of your political opponents. When you could no longer deny the economic performance of this government, which was also acknowledged by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, you started making offensive comments regarding the training of your opponents," Dancila said at the Parliament plenary meeting for the debate of the no-confidence motion titled "Ousting the Dragnea - Dancila government, a national emergency!" initiated by the Opposition.

The PM said that the Opposition representatives remain "prisoners to conflicting politics" without realizing that the Romanians "are fed up with scandal and hate the wrangling" that beset Romanian politics. Dancila voiced her confidence in the intelligence of the people "who have repeatedly proven that they don't not fall for manipulations" and that they are able to discern the truth.

"When this term comes to end in 2020, the Romanians will draw the line and, with their specific wisdom, will rightly grasp the essence of things when they will turn out to vote. The equation will be as simple as possible. You cut, we have raised pensions and wages. You closed down, we have reopened and built schools and hospitals. You heightened, we have lowered and even scrapped taxes. Under your ruling unemployment was at its highest, with us it hit a low. You dismantled, we have created hundreds of jobs. You generated one of the steepest decreases, we - one of EU's biggest economic growth," the PM argued.

Dancila added that, apart from attacking the government, the Opposition should present the Romanians the alternative they have to offer.

"Many of us know it perfectly well! It's the same alternative that you once before served the Romanian citizens, it is the alternative of benefit cuts and austerity. The program of the National Liberal Party (PNL) insists on cutting the minimum national wage to one thousand lei, that is even 25 more than the cut operated by the former PDL governance. Moreover, the PNL economists strongly claim that raising the minimum wage is an anti-economic and antisocial measure. And this while the minimum wage in Romania is still among the lowest in the European Union, despite the successive increases during our rule," the PM said. AGERPRES (RO - author: Irinela Visan, editor: Andreea Rotaru; EN - author: Simona Klodnischi, editor: Razvan-Adrian Pandea)