Romanian Ambassador to the US Enters Political Conflict with Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu

A political conflict sparked over the conflictual reaction of the Romanian Ambassador to Washington, Andrei Muraru, to the decision of the Romanian PM not to invite him to the political meetings in the US.

Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has a series of political meetings in Washington, along with three ministers from his cabinet – Defence, Economy and Foreign Affairs.

My role in this visit ends here. I thank my team in Washington for the effort made in the last few days to facilitate the meetings of the following days, but Mr. Prime Minister considered that the representatives of the Romanian Embassy in Washington don’t need to participate in the political meetings of the following days. Having said that, Mr. Prime Minister, I can only wish you and the government team a lot of success, because your success here, in America, means the success of Romania. And, finally, we wish you what we all wish, meaningful meetings, fruitful for the peace, prosperity and security of the Romanians.

Andrei Muraru during the meeting with the representatives of the Romanian communities in the US

Mr Marcel Ciolacu replied that if he were Romania’s President, he would’ve recalled the Ambassador to the country right away.

I will allow myself… I think the ambassador is younger than me, I think the greatest quality in politics is patience. I don’t think there is much difference between politics and diplomacy and I am firmly convinced that Mr. Ambassador has not lost his patience yet, as I have not done it many times and in more difficult contexts. It is important to see our mission that we each have in an important moment for Romania and less for our interests or our personal visions.

Romania’s PM Marcel Ciolacu replying to Romania’s Ambassador to Washington

A local television from Romania asked if he had discussed with the Ambassador after the incident, and he told the journalists he hadn’t.

I haven’t had any discussions with the ambassador, and I think we won’t have any discussions for an extended period of time. In the first place, I came here accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is the top representative of Romanian diplomacy; we had not had time to have the applied discussions about how the representations would be the next day, that’s why I said that sometimes it’s good to be patient. However, the lack of scope of Mr. Ambassador and an ultimately emotional reaction of his lordship did not qualify him to be an ambassador.

Romania’s PM Marcel Ciolacu

The context of this conflict has evident political roots. The Ambassador is one of the former close aids of Romania’s President Klaus Johannis, with clear Liberal political views. On the other hand, the current PM, Marcel Ciolacu, is a Socialist, and the conflict between the two parties forming the ruling coalition in Romania, PSD and PNL, becomes more visible as the elections in 2024 are nearer.