Crown Custodian Margareta, call for "national responsibility": We are efficient if our political administration is efficient

Crown Custodian Margareta on Wednesday called for national responsibility and pleaded for a "broad national dialogue" on "constitutional obstacles" that prevent Romania's political system from functioning "properly."

"I know, of course, that political struggles are the essence of democracy. I also know that it is easy for someone like me to call for national unity. But tonight I would like to make another call: one to national responsibility. We cannot expect our close partners to take us seriously if we spend months without a Government and if ministers come and go on a monthly basis. We cannot expect voters to reject populist politicians if our existing politicians do not offer them anything. Our private sector is vibrant, talented and competent. But we cannot expect to return to strong economic growth - which our nation desperately needs - if the only thing our politicians and officials do is fight over the portfolios of the Cabinet," Her Majesty Margareta said in the speech given at the Royal Evening dedicated to the Diplomatic Corps, held in the Throne Room of the Royal Palace.

The Crown Custodian pointed out that perhaps the most important lesson from the current health crisis is "the importance of good governance and political maturity."

"We are just as strong as our national institutions are; we are effective only if our political administration is effective. The heavy responsibility of national defence depends not only on our soldiers and the arsenal of weapons, but also on our doctors and nurses and the oxygen ventilators they have at their disposal. And coordinating these efforts and ensuring that all entities do their duty is the responsibility of politicians," she said.

Her Majesty Margareta called for "a broad national dialogue on the obvious constitutional obstacles that prevent our political system from functioning properly".

"We must not shy away from constitutional change: most European key-partners not only talk about it all the time, but regularly implement constitutional amendments. We must also not shy away from demanding that our politicians be incorruptible, but also act in the sense of national responsibility. It is not just an aspiration to an ideal, it is an absolute requirement. Because, as the pandemic reminded us, poor political administration literally costs lives," the Crown Custodian said.

Her Majesty Margareta considers that, following the COVID 19 pandemic, "there are lessons we should learn at every level: we have questions about the efficiency of central and local government, the state of our health services and the investments we make, as well as the ability of state institutions to combat the wave of conspiracy theories or malicious rumors, which contribute to the relatively slow pace of our vaccination program."

At the same time, the Crown Custodian said self-criticism must be kept alive and "refrain from judgment until the crisis is really over."

"Since the pandemic began almost two years ago, many nations have claimed to have discovered the perfect way to deal with the health crisis, and later faced new serious situations; other countries were proud of their health statistics and later they had to admit that, unfortunately, their mortality rates were no different from those suffered by their neighbours. Therefore, we need to keep our self-criticism alive and look every day at how we cope with this big problem but we also need to refrain from judgment until the crisis is really over and we can assess in a balanced way what has happened," Her Majesty urged.

Referring to recent developments abroad, the Crown Custodian drew attention to the worsening security in the region, by "deliberately trying to challenge the status quo in Europe, as it was created at the end of the Cold War." She called for the consolidation of positive developments, meant to lead to the prosperity and solidarity that people expect.

"This is not an act of charity, but a European necessity. I am afraid that if we do not act quickly, we will miss a historic opportunity and encourage the aggressors in new adventures or catastrophic miscalculations," Crown Custodian Margareta said.

The Crown Custodian recalled Romania's decision to allocate at least 2% of its gross national product to the Romanian Army and paid tribute to the British, Canadian and US contributions to Romania's security, "only three of many other non-EU nations that remain essential to defending our independence ".

At the same time, Her Majesty Margareta characterized as an "impressive evolution" the fact that "despite all the hostile propaganda, the people of the Republic of Moldova chose their leaders determined to affirm the course of European integration", but also the fact that despite "all the difficulties of a brutal conflict, which continues to kill soldiers and civilians, Ukraine maintains its democratic path."

"King Mihai led a life in which he never compromised the principles he believed in, but he did not consider any duty to be below his dignity, if it was something that helped Romania. I am determined to continue to follow in his footsteps," Crown Custodian Margareta added.

The event was attended by Prince Radu, the Apostolic Nuncio, Miguel Maury Bunedia, the Dean of the Foreign Diplomatic Corps in Romania, who sent a message to the Royal Family of Romania, diplomats accredited in Romania, representatives of the Romanian political milieu.