Cătălin Predoiu accuses a USR lawmaker of “political hooliganism”

PNL Senator Cătălin Predoiu responded to criticism from a USR lawmaker and accused him of using coarse language and political labels to attack people with differing opinions. The former Minister of Justice and Minister of Internal Affairs made the statements in a public post, amid a dispute over USR leader Dominic Fritz’s position on Donald Trump’s influence following the midterm elections.

Predoiu compared political attacks based on labeling to mechanisms found in Bolshevik and fascist regimes, but said he did not believe that the USR as a whole behaved in this way. He argued that only some of the party’s lawmakers resort to such practices and mentioned that he had recently worked with a USR official whom he respects.

The former minister also rejected criticism concerning the justice laws adopted during his terms in office. He said they had been validated by European institutions and Romania’s judicial bodies and had contributed to achieving objectives such as lifting the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism and unblocking Romania’s Schengen accession dossier.

Predoiu also spoke about his 18 years of public service, including approximately 11 years in ministerial positions. Regarding Donald Trump, he argued that the US administration would continue to promote its foreign policy priorities and that Romania must carefully calculate its steps, including in view of joining the OECD.