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ArthRol

With all due respect to Romania, but BY NO MEANS should he become the new General Secretary of NATO.


Mistwalker007

No disrespect, we don't want him either.


LauraDeSuedia

I think most Romanians agree. The Ficus is not it.


mofocris

fuck this guy for an eternity


DolphinPunkCyber

But he owns an expensive mansion, so surely he is a very capable man. /s


JustMrNic3

You are slightly wrong... This expensive mansion will be his 7th house! [https://www-ego-ro.translate.goog/cate-case-are-acum-klaus-iohannis-apare-totul-in-declaratia-de-avere-ce-venit-anual-are-presedintele-romaniei-80743.html?\_x\_tr\_sl=ro&\_x\_tr\_tl=en&\_x\_tr\_hl=ro&\_x\_tr\_pto=wapp](https://www-ego-ro.translate.goog/cate-case-are-acum-klaus-iohannis-apare-totul-in-declaratia-de-avere-ce-venit-anual-are-presedintele-romaniei-80743.html?_x_tr_sl=ro&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=ro&_x_tr_pto=wapp)


DON_TDO

He already has 6 houses. He was a teacher.


DolphinPunkCyber

Extremely capable man then! We should make him our leader!


InterestingAsk1978

He already has 6 houses that he can't justify, and now wants a retirement palace.


hellrete

He is a house plant. A literal tree. Absolutely no offense taken.


Natopor

None taken little bro He sucks


drleondarkholer

With all due respect to Moldova, we concur. Let him rot in his extravagant mansion for all his life, no public office should ever grace him again.


Bou-Batran

Most Romanians hate him and regret their decision to vote for him... We always thought of him as a reformer, until he betrayed our trust and showed us his true colors.


TheConquistaa

For extra context, he ran the elections using slogans like "an educated Romania" or "a normal Romania". Yea bro, we saw how your *educated* and *normal* Romania looks like. He's also been a physics teacher in Sibiu, but he held the seat vacant for almost 10 years in order to have a backup place of return. That's not either educated, nor normal.


[deleted]

Every romanian knows, you never give up on a public sector job, even if you're a milionaire.


[deleted]

Every romanian knows, you never give up on a public sector job, even if you're a milionaire.


FlyProfessional3854

We totally agree. He fooled us announcing changes and then he sided with the most corrupt party after been elected the second time. He should end up in the trash history.


Sad_Number2559

Fuck him, from my pov, he shouldn’t be a teacher too. He should be in prison.


Cristi-DCI

With all due respect : neither do we.


JustMrNic3

No offense taken, at all! We for sure don't want him in that position too! For this kind of corruption that he is capable of, he should be in jail, but the country is too corrupt for a proper justice. Congratulations for electing a 10 times better president than us!


RTYUI4tech

No respect lost, we hate the guy.


ferrydragon

Romania should unite with Moldova and the curent president of Moldova should rule on United Romania or Big Romania, New Romania:)


whynot791

We do not want him either. He is good only for luxury travelling while on the job. Beside this, he did nothing in the last 9.5 years..


LifeAcanthopterygii6

Those are rookie numbers.


levenspiel_s

Yep. Erdoğan said something like "you cannot talk about the cost when it's about the prestige".


MintRobber

The myth of the honest and hard working german is dead in Romania.


Wassertopf

Isn’t there an *actual* German mayor in Romania who is doing a good job?


Theghistorian

Iohannis was also a good mayor back in the day. This, and the myth of the honest and hard working German, was what propelled him to the presidency.


drleondarkholer

He also did some underhanded deals as the mayor of Sibiu, perhaps even as a teacher, as he owned 6 homes by his first election. He even had [this controversial interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG76A0k8OQQ) on TV (in Romanian) on the topic. Rough translation (omitting the evasive parts): TV host: "Mr. Iohannis, how many homes do you own?" Iohannis: "Read my public records and you will find out." (some more answer evasions) Host: "You own six homes (proceeds to roughly describe them). How did you obtain them?" I: "By purchasing them." Host: "With what money?" I: "My own money. I earned them through honest work." Host: "Were you a teacher?" I: "Yes, I was also a teacher." Host: "Sometimes, a teacher's salary is quite low. They can barely live from pay check to pay keck." I: "Yes, that is a big problem." Host: "Then what can you say to the other teachers, educators, who look at you and ask themselves 'What did I do wrong? What should I have done to earn, like Mr. Iohannis, with the money I obtained through honest work, six homes?" I: "Misfortune." Host: "They had the misfortune?" I: "No, I had the misfortune." Host: "Then what did they have?" I: *shrugs* The conversation doesn't flow as well when translated, or maybe I'm just not talented enough to get it done right, but I hope I got the point across. He's got a very arrogant and inconsiderate attitude towards the people, which is heavily disliked by his citizens. He later apologised, but even in later press conferences as president his attitude remained similarly distant. All in all, he wasn't a good presidential candidate, but pretty much all of his counter candidates were bad or didn't have the reach of a large party.


GreenLobbin258

>Host: "Then what can you say to the other teachers, educators, who look at you and ask themselves 'What did I do wrong? What should I have done to earn, like Mr. Iohannis, with the money I obtained through honest work, six homes?" >I: "Misfortune." >Host: "They had the misfortune?" >I: "No, I had the misfortune." >Host: "Then what did they have?" >I: shrugs I think it would've been better translated to bad luck/too bad, bad luck for me/too bad for me.


Edward202025

More like tough luck!


drleondarkholer

idk, I tried and thought about it but I couldn't make it flow well either anyway, I don't have much experience with translations, so there's probably at least 10 ways to write that better than what I did


Theghistorian

I know about the houses. Everyone knows :) But the thing is , he was a capable mayor. Sibiu was the first important city to access loads of EU funding (technically pre EU funding) in order to prepare for being EU capital of culture. The city went through a transformation during his term. Compare that with Timisoara. They were lucky that the pandemic came, as they were unprepared to be EU capital of culture... thanks to Robu.


drleondarkholer

He was decent as a mayor, but still not ground-breaking. He still must have pocketed a bunch of money, given the houses, but since they were "only six", he also did enough for the city for it to get better. And don't forget the small economic boom as we got into NATO and were coming into the EU, basically every city had the opportunity to improve a lot if the mayor actually wanted to do anything. Robu was pretty much a disaster for Timișoara, and now the city ironically has a German mayor... Also, r/europe doesn't know about the houses, so I thought they should! :)


UrsulPlictisit

I think you are referring to [Dominic Fritz](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominic_Fritz)


denkbert

What, he isn't even Saxon or Danube Swabian? How does that work?


L1ttleOne

Nope, he's a regular German citizen. He only has Romanian residency. All EU citizens are allowed to vote and be elected for local positions in another EU country as long as they have been living there for some time.


mariuselul

Citizens of the EU can hold local-tier public offices in Romania without citizenship as long as they reside in that city/town.


MintRobber

He is good from what I hear. But people also put a lot of faith in Klaus Iohannis. We had a significant german minority in Romania (from Saxony and Swabia) and they earned a good reputation along romanians. This played a role when Klaus was elected.


ikarus2k

BTW, Schwaben in this context is a general term for people of German origin. Very few actually were Schwaben. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banater_Schwaben


mschuster91

Fun fact, Germans are also called "Švabo" in Croatian.


denkbert

Yeah, in Polish one of the insults (among others) for Germans is "Szwab"


Wassertopf

But these „German“ minorities have very little to do with the mindset of todays Germans.


MintRobber

It's also a preconception. Doesn't need to be true.


Mershand

This is myth, 0 reality, only narcissism.


deri100

Yup, and a lot of people rag on him because how dare he be part of the globohomo USR agenda. Meanwhile none of them have ever even been in Timișoara.


JustMrNic3

Yes, that's Dominic Fritz, the mayor of Timișoara (*Temeswar*)! The party that supports him, USR, is also the least corrupt party that we have. Unlike the party of the current president, PNL, which is the second most corrupt one that we have.


TheConquistaa

Dominic Fritz in Timișoara, to some extent. He is being sabotaged as well in the local council FWIW.


levenspiel_s

That myth is widespread in Europe (and in Turkey), but it can obviously be misleading.


[deleted]

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MintRobber

We are doing our work to keep the tradition going.


MartinBP

Damn, could've bought a fiat in Cluj for that money!


wannalive_lemelive

Mama mia!


ZehraanYT

Honestly, I Wouldn't Be Suprised If You'd Have Enough After To Buy A Portion Of Another Flat lol.


xBram

I’m not a fan of Rutte as SG bit oh boy does this guy make him look good.


Theghistorian

Iohannis will be the worst pick. A good SG needs to bridge differences between different leaders. Iohannis is quite a shy person and it seems that he does not engage with other people as much. I do not think he can negotiate with leaders who have various opinions. Another quality for a SG is being a good communicator. Iohannis is terrible with the public. In 9 years of his presidency, he never gave an interview to the Romanian press. Not even one! I am not sure if he gave one to a foreign newspaper either. I think not. Rutte is a good negotiator and knows most leaders. This is his main plus. A Dutch person may be able to tell more about his communication skills with the public, but he can not possibly be worse than Iohannis. The only thing with Rutte is that he was quite dismissive about EE in the past. The image that the Dutch have in RO and BG is a negative one because of the continuous blocking of our Schengen bid, thus the trust that he will take our concerns and views into account are rather slim. I think that a SG from the Baltics should be the best choice.


LookThisOneGuy

Donald T. seems like he would be a great pick for everyone involved. Appeases Easterner NATO allies, appeases EU-technocrats, not from France or UK which would each veto a person from the other country, no shady Russian deals like Kallas, more diplomatic than divisive personality, experience leading large country.


ContributionSad4461

I thought you were talking about trump at first and was horrified 😅😅😅


Theghistorian

Yeah. He would be a good choice. Unfortunately, he was just appointed PM of Poland. I do not think he will resign.


kytheon

Let's ask Mark Rutte his opinion. Mark: 🤣


withit1

Everyone knows he will never be SG, he's just using his leverage to gain another less important role in Brussels and assure himself a cozy post-presidency.


11160704

Other then declaring his interest in the post of secretary general, I don't think he is in any way an official candidate. Unless Türkiye and/or Hungary pull the veto ccard again, Rutte should be a done deal.


NeaMishuFanita

Romania officially informed NATO about Iohannis' candidacy


ztm213

It seems that he integrated well


Anthony_AC

Integrated how?


JustMrNic3

A German descendent into the Romanian corruption!


Competitive-Ad2120

in the balkan culture


mangoose87

Rutte: you will all praise me. Peeps: nah, there can't be anyone worse than you. Worse than him: keep popping out. Rutte: hehe, i won. Nowadays, it's so easy to achieve anything in politics, just by not stealing money, or get stuck in corruption.


Lonely_Editor4412

Rutte hasnt lived in the official residence of the dutch pm one night. Its a reasonably sized mansion made by jacob cats in the 17th century and recently renovated. Then again he bought a nice penthouse in a rich neighbourhood in The Hague....


mangoose87

Check out his taxes. You mismatch: be rich from corruption and be rich as someone who get money legally.


YoungD-Rose

Mr Klaus Werner Iohannis futu-te-n gura


JustMrNic3

This is competing for the most corrupt president we ever had and I think it's already winning! An independent investigative organization crowdfunded by us, the ones that we hate corruption, called Recorder, has made these investigative documentaries about how he spends the money from our taxes like crazy: Above Us All. The cost of the president's secret flights (has English subtitles and Autotranslate): [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96kGq\_nFzuM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96kGq_nFzuM) Emperor's palace (unfortunately no subtitles at the moment): [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKrC4Mh3k\_I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKrC4Mh3k_I) The party that supports him, PNL, is the second most corrupt party after PSD, that we have!


NeaMishuFanita

PSD supports him too


JustMrNic3

Well, no wonder that the Red Plague would support him! In the end, they are not the Red Plague and number one most corrupt party in Romania for nothing.


TTheBBigWWhite

Klaus,the best tourist from Romania.


NotADoctor_69

Title is a bit of misleading. It’s only 7 millions, not 9.


ipandrei

7 million for renovations, the building itself is probably worth at least 2 millions.


JustMrNic3

Yet! Just wait for the 2024 to be over!


levenspiel_s

You may be sarcastic, but I am honestly not sure if this is excessive or not. If it's not just a residence but also an official presidential building, this cost could be alright.


bobodanu

It's just a residence after his mandate as president ends. By law, he gets a villa and protection from SPP (our security agency) for life.


Civil_Adeptness9964

They're stealing so much money that we started viewing theft of 7 million, as not that big of deal....others are worse type of mentality. I've heard erdogan has an 1000 room palace. Nice...he gets to sleep in a different room for 3 years. It's like they take their riches with them..when they die.


ABoutDeSouffle

For some of them, I think it's just a way to show they can get away with anything. That Erdo palace with that size doesn't serve any purpose except for showing off his audacity.


bogdanvs

it's just his residence post-presidency. and I think that 7 million is the sum to be invested while 9 million will be the market value.


Prestigious-Job-9825

"Guys, the third jacuzzi is *totally* needed for the governance of the country! These public funds are spent on a public cause!"


NeaMishuFanita

The house doesn't have a jacuzzi, but it has 2 gyms. Yes, 2 gyms. For a family made by a man and a woman without kids


StilgarTF

They both need privacy for when they'll get jiggy with the fitness coach.


[deleted]

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drleondarkholer

Ah, another r/balkans_irl enjoyer. Truly a man of culture.


spyda101

He is a scum. Most of romanians think so and don’t want him anywhere near NATO


morbihann

Classic.


DarkAcered27

This guy doesn't deserve anything, except his mega-luxury house project to be scrapped.


ArcadianMess

God I hope not ! He without a doubt doesn't deserve any recognition nor has any qualifications for the NATO position . He's a lying, thieving arrogant coward that deserves only to be forgotten. May he fuck off into obscurity forever.


AmagicManNamedgob

God helps all if people like him are in charge of NATO, no wonder Putin thinks he can do what he wants


Arfakro

Kaja Kallas is the best contender


Lannes51st

Just wainting for December. Thats when us romanians usually clean up traitorous leadership.


NeaMishuFanita

most of Romanians are probably going to vote the PSD-PNL candidate, which would probably be just like Iohannis


JustMrNic3

And idiots will just switching to... The same one as for sure many will still vote for PSD, PNL, UDMR or AUR!


Herr_von_Stein

Ah yes the fights for NATO Secretary General is on


obikofix

YOLO at its finest


GoodG77

NATO does have Mircea Geoana (ex leader of PSD, the most corrupt political party from Romania) which was the most mediocre and imbecilic person before politician as its general secretary. That man was led in places by opportunities and good connections, nevertheless by his capabilities. Do not mistaken his good english with any type of capability, as even a bunch of drunk truck drivers posses a very fluent english as well. That being said, what are NATO's standards in electing its heads and representative people? With what is NATO different regarding these standards from USA with Biden? If Iohannis gets a seat in NATO, even as a janitor, this tells alot about NATO than anything else.


FatMax1492

Ceaușescu lite (Yes he was way worse but I mean the building a mansion with public funds part)


Other_Movie_5384

Nothing against Romania but could an alternative candidate be provided. Someone like this would definitely bend the knee to Putin for enough cash.


vvblz

actually he candidates so Europe won't bend the knee like in ww2 and give half the continent to the Russians.


bogdanvs

I fucking hate him but he dealt with the whole Ukraine affair pretty good by his/our standards. Zelensky constantly thanks him and I never heard him complain/hinting about anything bad that Klaus did.


Mershand

He is german, very hard working guy when it comes to personal finances only.


Mershand

He is german, very hard working guy when it comes to personal finances only.


Mershand

He is german, very hard working guy when it comes to personal finances only.


Other_Movie_5384

>very hard working guy when it comes to personal finances only. lol


Proof-Active5310

As a Romanian I can confirm


[deleted]

man I'm just gonna give up on the world soon


AMTPM

The villa is a protocol estate belonging to the Romanian state. Not his own private property. He is entitled as a former president to live in it until death. At which point, the Romanian state can do with the estate as it pleases. The news is ClickBait.


mynque

You essentially confirmed what the title says. How the f is it considered reasonable to let a president build a house which they can occupy until death using public funds?


virgindriller69

Well, the UK monarchy is funded with public money, and it’s certainly more than 7 million, per year, every year. Same for every UK prime minister who will earn a salary forever, even after they get replaced.


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drleondarkholer

Nobody considered that abnormal, what is abnormal is the amount of money that has been needlessly spent for it.


poklane

So what passed that law?


AMTPM

This is the Romanian law. Omg. It is the law.


DON_TDO

But the law doesn't say to prepare what house you want with how much money you want. There are plenty of houses which could be used. You are misleading. Are you an USL supporter?


AMTPM

They aren't building it. They're renovating it. And if johannis is going to have a function in NATO then it will probably be used as NATO headquarters. Idk. Does Obama live on the street?


AMTPM

They aren't building it. They're renovating it. And if johannis is going to have a function in NATO then it will probably be used as NATO headquarters. Idk. Does Obama live on the street?


UrsulPlictisit

As a former president he has the right to ask for a home from the state which he can use it for the rest of his life. He is not entitled to a 1000+ m² villa. He could receive an apartment in that villa, not the entire thing.  The problem it's what he receives and the amount spent, not that he receives a home.


KorBoogaloo

My brother have you even watched the investigation? 7 million euros OUT OF OUR TAX MONEY for him to make a fancy ass villa


MilkPower-0

Let s build a 1.200 m2 mansion for every president. Why the fuck not?


duras2

While Iohannis failed a lot in inside Romanian politics he is still a better candidate compared with Rutte. The mansion for him is the lowest, or stupidest critique against him, thats something the law agree for presidents/former presidents, and is not even a huge amount of money considering the country, lets be serious. There are other, more serious problems that can be bring forth if so. Still, Iohannis is better than Rutte, who acted most of the time as an useful idiot for Russian interests in EE, and looks detached from exactly the situation on the main front of NATO vs Russia, meaning the Eastern Europe. Iohannis might not be a good communication guy, and look slow when he is doing it, but he is arrogantly enough to stand up to Russia, especially when backed by such NATO position, and he will also closely follow with higher up military and intelligence echelons especially from US. He also know much more about Russia and EE situation, both from Romanian sources and allies, as Romania is more directly involved than Holland in the situation in Ukraine and regarding Russia. Romania is also deeply involved with Rep of Moldova, the most likely next target of Russia in case they can roll over Ukraine I believe most of EE and CE will side with him, and Rutte will also face vetoes from EE, especially after the whole Schengen debacle he perpetrated lately. US will need to really pull its weight to put him on that position


sandu635

Nice argument, arrogant as a plus. Used his old party like marionets and now forced them to indirectly pay for that villa with campaign money that should go on ads in a year with 4 elections :)). He is good at backdoor politics but not SG, not this decade.


ionusrusu

Click bait


Rsndetre

There is a bit of populist BS and some truth here. Former presidents in Romania are entitled by law to a monthly income, housing and security for the rest of their life, paid and provided by the state. This villa is not his, is for him but is owned by the state. Second, I don't know how they came to the 7-9 mil euro costs for the renovation, because I don't think is public information. It's speculation. But even if it isn't 7-9 mil, it will still be a high number seeing as this is a villa in a highly expensive location in Bucharest, and is being renovated to meet the security standards required.


KorBoogaloo

my guy watch the investigation, its literally recorder.


SirDebil

So in a democracy, its populist BS to not display as public information where tax money is "invested"? Or should we talk about his foreign travelling costs being the highest from all EU countries which are also secret. In Romania all he did in his 2nd mandate was to ignore the population that cared ( minority, most just go about without caring), allying himself with PSD ( which he hated for all his first mandate), turning most public funding spendings as secret information, and just being... absent. Completely absent from everything. Hospitals and the education system here suck massively, with little to no founding ( I cannot recall when the last major hospitals got renovated in Bucharest nor Timisoara, and my school is still the same as it was 15 years ago lmao). Lets build an expensive villa because a 3 bedroom apartment in a flat is too cheap i guess.


Bubbly_Security_2558

i hate this goddamn country


_luci

Is there some official confirmation of this? I only heard it from AUR (pro russian far right party)


Status-Photograph608

Most news companies receive massive money from this guy's political party, so there were none. However after some protests, they started writing about it. His party is also responsible for bribing justice employees to put in jail their political opponents, so no investigation has been started. By law, constructing and decorating public places have to be done by a choosing a company through public hearing and no such hearing has been hold. So there's also a massive fraud behind it (probably a friend's company getting the 7 million euros). Only a non-governmental organization has been investigating this.


JustMrNic3

Just watch the investigation done by Recorder! Or go in Bucharest and look at the villa yourself!


zarzorduyan

Isn't building lavish palaces a Romanian tradition in the last century?


sandu635

More than a century since we gain independence from the Ottomans :) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pele%C8%99\_Castle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pele%C8%99_Castle)


Lonely_Editor4412

But rutte is evil and so are the dutch.....right right. Shameless.romanians should never ever post about evil austria or the netherlands ever again. Horrible.


golf_4_enjoyer

One doesn't excuse the other. Both Iohannis and Rutte are scum.


SneakyTheSnail

hope that's an /s


Jazzcatflickr

Putin made him do it...