Bucharest Mayor Gabriela Firea proposes new institution in the future Government: the Bucharest State Secretariat

A new structure for the development of the capital will be set up as part of the future government, governing PSD sources told HotNews.ro. According to them, a department for the development of Bucharest will be set up within the Ministry of Development, at the proposal of the Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea (PSD). She confirmed for HotNews.ro that she proposed the establishment of a new structure of a Bucharest State Secretariat, based on the model of England, where the London Ministry exists.

Asked if she agreed with the establishment of a State Secretariat for Bucharest, prime minister to be Viorica Dancila said: „I have to analyze and then I will answer.”

The PSD and their allies currently discuss the formation of a new government, after the party last week forced its prime minister Mihai Tudose to resign. Tudose was the second PM forced by his own party, the PSD, to step down in less than a year, following inner party struggles between them and party leader Liviu Dragnea. President Klaus Iohannis agreed last week with the nomination of a third PSD prime minister – MEP Viorica Dancila.

The Mayor of Bucharest explained to HotNews.ro why this new structure would be needed: „Because we have a lot of blockages, people in ministries that block capital city projects for no real reason, when they reach the endorsement. Bucharest is the largest urban agglomeration, the largest university center, the central state institutions, the embassies are here, the international events take place here. There are countries with about 3 million inhabitants [as Bucharest is estimated to have]. We do not want positive discrimination, just fairness.”

It is not yet clear what problems this state secretariat will have to solve, what the attributions of the new structure will be or who will lead it and how it will avoid overlapping of competence with the Bucharest district town halls and the Bucharest City Hall.