#2019PresidentialElection2019 / Iohannis to reopen talk on presidential immunity at Constitution revision

President Klaus Iohannis said Monday in Ploiesti that presidential immunity is provided for in the Constitution and it cannot be waived without the Constitution being amended.

"That can be done with the change in the Constitution and, of course, when we get to revising the Constitution, I will reopen the matter," Iohannis told a journalist who reminded him that in his 2014 campaign he said the first thing to do when getting in office would be to waive his presidential immunity.

Iohannis also said that he and the National Liberal Party (PNL) government intend to increase public pay and pensions.

"We, I and the incumbent government, would like to get into situation, which we do, where we increase wages and pensions, not as the Social Democratic Party (PSD) claimed that we want austerity," said Iohannis.

The president also spoke about what he proposes if he wins re-election.

"For the next term I have a lot of projects, all of them for normal Romania. We need a reset of Romania, which means to repair everything that has been broken in these years. The big public systems must be put back into operation, as they are designed - the healthcare, schools, police, gendarmerie and so on. Everywhere this toxic regime Dragnea-Dancila got their cronies and relatives to permanent positions. Things have to be restarted, deserving people have to be brought in who are trained for management positions; we have to redo these systems so that they will work for the citizens. That is already a huge job. Simultaneously, conditions must be created for a better, more sustainable economic development," said Iohannis.

He added that he also has important projects related to national security.

"Obviously, there are areas related to national security where we have to get very involved, and I mean here the partnerships with the USA, where we have made beautiful steps in the right direction, but we are also talking about equipping the armed forces, training the soldiers. We need a lot of involvement to make the economy, which will keep working better and better, benefits in the pockets of Romanians, which means more substantial incomes," said the PNL candidate in the November 24 presidential runoff.

On Monday, Klaus Iohannis met PNL members and supporters at the Olimpia Sports Hall in Ploiesti.