“The leu is not a reserve currency and can be attacked by its own population (...) While enhancing the country’s stability, the IMF agreement [Ed. n. Romania recently applied to the International Monetary Fund for a stand-by agreement] has also created a real danger (...) A message that we are not complying with agreed policies could make markets very edgy,” Croitoru said.
He added that “Romania has two Finance ministers, the actual minister and its Parliament.” Presidential and European Parliament elections are to be held this year, which could create pressures for populist measures, such as salary hikes.
According to Croitoru, the state should not grant stimuli to industries, because these will merely postpone the crisis in an attempt to save things that should be done away with. “The public believes that a lack of government intervention is the worst threat for welfare, but things are the actually the other way around,” he said. Croitoru consider Western government approaches, which focus on bailing out sectors hit by the crisis, to be wrong.
“The core solution for the current crisis is to promote sustainable economic growth, which can only be accomplished if markets remain free,” Croitoru stressed.
