Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis has suggested that the leader of the governing party in the country, Livius Dragnea, may have made “secret deals with the Jews” over a move of the country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a statement that drew a reaction from a Jewish group.
Dragnea, the head of the Social Democratic Party, accompanied Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă during a visit this week to Israel.
Dăncilă and Dragnea were invited to the Jewish state after the ruling party leader announced last week that the government approved a memorandum for moving Romania’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The prime minister explained, however, that so far the government has only launched a debate about relocating Romania’s embassy to Jerusalem, without taking an actual decision.
But on Friday, the Romanian president called for her resignation.
“Mrs. Dăncilă is not up to the job of Prime Minister of Romania, and as a result, the government is becoming a liability for Romania. That is why I am publicly calling for Mrs. Dăncilă’s resignation,” Iohannis said in a short statement.
He pointed to the “secret memorandum’’ adopted by the government last week with the aim of moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He opposes the move, saying he was not informed beforehand.
“This was a big error because in foreign policy, if we’re talking about secret documents, the president should have been consulted,” said Iohannis.
Iohannis said that Dăncilă’s visit to Israel was “secretly prepared,’’ and that she had no mandate for the meetings she conducted with Israeli officials.
“She spoke strictly for the government, not for Romania,” Iohannis said, according to Mediafax.