Klaus Iohannis is the first president in Romanian history to resign from office, a miserable resignation where there are no winners, only losers combined with an absence of logic.
It is a sad day for the NATO and EU member at a complicated and unpredictable time.
Mr. Iohannis’ many enemies don’t have much to celebrate. It’s a hollow victory. He’d have been gone anyway in a couple of months as per the constitution which says the president stays until his replacement is sworn in, and anyway, his temporary replacement, Ilie Bolojan, is from the same pro-European Liberal Party, only he lacks the experience and powers of the outgoing president.
It’s an absurd resignation, which was forced by nationalist Romanian parties and so-called reformists who now control a third of Parliament and seem bent on disruption. It’s a sacrifice that the honorable and cautious Mr. Iohannis chose to make. Say he had been impeached by Parliament, then we’d have had a referendum on his impeachment. At the same time, we’d have had the electoral campaign for the presidency. A febrile Romania gripped by political turmoil and nonsense that would only serve Romania’s enemies, such as Russia.
Romania has been fortunate to have had Klaus Iohannis as its president for the last 10 years. He has kept the country on its Western path, he has steered it towards democracy, he has respected the office of president, and has kept the same loyal group of advisers.
“For ten years, Romania has enjoyed political and economic stability. That brought peace, predictability and prosperity. In the coming period, we have to work towards these objectives. Romania should remain anchored in the same political and institutional international architecture which guarantee peace, security, predictability and prosperity,” said deputy Prime Minister Catalin Predoiu on Monday.
Mr. Iohannis shepherded Romanians through the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Romania’s border, two of the biggest challenges the country faced since communism was overthrown in 1989.
Yet never has a president been so criticized and vilified for relatively so little_like the length of his wife’s dresses or for slamming his coat on the official car roof in irritation at protocol errors. And never has a president not used his powers, informal or otherwise, not to hit back at critics.In Romania, it’s more courageous to praise Klaus Iohannis than to criticize him.
So what happened in his 10 years in office.
In his first term (2014-2019), Mr. Iohannis tried to keep Romania in the Western orbit, as Liviu Dragnea and the Social Democrats’ waged war against the rule of law.
Donning a red puffer jacket, he even took part in street protests of January 2017 to support the rule of law. He presided over a government meeting led by Premier Sorin Grindeanu, to put public pressure on a draft law that would have pardoned convicts including party leader Liviu Dragnea.
Shortly before the end of his first term, he removed Laura Codruta Kövesi as chief anti corruption prosecutor under pressure from the PSD. He privately asked her to resign to avoid the embarrassing situation of dismissing her, but she refused, leaving him to do the dirty work.
Not long afterwards, and already into his second term, the Liberal-Save Romania Union collapsed after the Liberals dismissed the Save Romania Union justice minister. In the name of political stability but at great personal political cost, Klaus Iohannis invited his enemy of yesteryear, the PSD into government. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was on the horizon and Romania could not afford to have destabilizing street protests which would feed into Russia’s hands. Romanians didn’t know this, but the president did.
Conversely, abroad, Iohannis enjoyed a stellar reputation. For Brussels and Washington, he was the only president in Eastern Europe who kept his country on the Western course, when all the countries in the region were facing major challenges.
There was a blip when he announced his candidacy for NATO secretary general in 2024, but no real harm came of it beyond perhaps personal embarrassment. The president could have communicated better.
Talking of communication, he was the only senior politician of the last 35 years to publicly apologize for his shortcomings as his term came to an end, though some even sneered at him for that.
Maybe time will give Romanians perspective. I remember the hate and vitriol directed at Traian Basescu, president from 2004-2014, much of it quite disproportionate. I now hear some of his erstwhile critics saying he was probably the best post-communist president Romania had.
I suspect the same thing will happen with Mr. Iohannis. He kept the country on a steady track and Romanians enjoyed freedom and prosperity from a leader without a personality cult.
You never know; Romanians may now elect a president who will take Romania out of the family of Western nations, curb personal liberties and take measures that will reduce personal wealth, and create the biggest personality cult since Nicolae Ceausescu.
Thank you, Mr President. I fear many are going to regret the passing of your era.
