Perciun on Dispute with Munteanu: “It May Have Contributed to His Decision to Resign”

Education Minister Dan Perciun has acknowledged that a disagreement with former Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu may have influenced his decision to resign but said he does not believe it was the sole reason. Perciun stated that it would be inappropriate to disclose the details of a conversation he had with Munteanu two or three days before the latter stepped down. According to the minister, the meeting was private, and he therefore does not intend to discuss its contents, jurnal.md reports. “I would not say that our conversation was the reason for Mr. Munteanu’s resignation. I believe that, at some point, Mr. Munteanu himself will explain what happened. I don’t think a single difficult conversation could have been the only reason for such a decision, but it may have played a part,” Perciun said. The minister stressed that he could not identify any other reasons behind the resignation and believes that only the former prime minister can provide a full explanation. “I’m afraid I can’t add anything beyond what is already in the public domain. It was his decision. There may have been several factors. There was that discussion about fiscal and budgetary policy, and perhaps there were other circumstances that I am not aware of. Mr. Munteanu has already provided the explanations he considered appropriate,” he said. Asked about the substance of their meeting, Perciun declined to elaborate, reiterating that it had been a private conversation. He later clarified, however, that the discussion focused on fiscal and budgetary policy, the government’s decision-making process, the functioning of the executive, and several organizational issues. “It was a conversation about fiscal and budgetary policy, how decisions are made, how the government functions, and a number of organizational matters, among other things. I am used to saying what I think and how I see the situation,’ Perciun added. According to the minister, dissatisfaction arose after several members of the government and the parliamentary majority learned through the media about certain elements of the fiscal and budgetary policy, even though those issues had not been discussed within the governing team beforehand.