How the trajectory rolls at the Ministry of Education

One of the nine trailblazers who migrated from the former center-left area to the PNL received a seat on the parliamentary lists, was elected and became Minister of Education. Sorin Cîmpeanu, because it is about him, rewarded, yesterday, in his turn, the trajectory of another former PSD parliamentarian, ex-deputy Roxana Pațurcă – whose absence from the motion of censure initiated by the Social Democrats last summer made impossible debate and vote for the overthrow of the Orban Government. Pațurcă was appointed, yesterday, by Cîmpeanu, to lead the Călărași County School Inspectorate. Sorin Cîmpeanu will also be seconded to the Ministry of Education by Violeta Vijulie, who will be changed from the leadership of the National Agency of Civil Servants by those from USR-PLUS.

Roxana Pațurcă led, until the autumn of last year, from the position of executive president, the PSD Călărași branch, and, in 2016, she was elected senator on the PSD lists. On September 1, however, after the motion of censure initiated by PSD, with the support of ALDE and Pro Romania, for the dismissal of the Orban Government, could not be put to the vote, due to the lack of a quorum, Pațurcă was excluded from the party. On September 2, the senator was already registered in the PNL parliamentary group in the Senate.

At that time, political sources considered Roxana Pațurcă’s candidacy for a place eligible on the PNL list for the new parliament as safe. This did not happen, however, a little over a month after the general elections, the former PSD member was appointed, by order of the Minister of Education, Sorin Cîmpeanu, to the position of general school inspector of the Călărași County School Inspectorate.

Roxana Pațurcă is, basically, a professor of finance-accounting, she teaches at the Economic College from Călărași, and, between 2013 and 2015, she worked as an inspector at IȘJ Călărași. The former senator is married to the former and current PNL mayor of Borcea commune, Călărași county, Theodor Aurel Nedelcu-Pațurcă.

Cîmpeanu, “imported” in turn on the PNL lists

Sorin Cîmpeanu, the Minister of Education who made the decision to appoint Roxana Pațurcă, is himself a tracker. In 2015, Cîmpeanu was an independent Minister of Education in the Ponta Government, supported by ALDE. After Ponta’s resignation, he was even interim prime minister, and at the end of 2016, he was elected senator on the ALDE lists.

In 2017, however, together with Daniel Constantin, who became, in his turn, a liberal parliamentarian in the elections of December 6, 2020, Sorin Cîmpeanu left the party led by Călin Popescu Tăriceanu, passing with weapons and luggage to Pro Romania, a party led by Victor Ponta. However, in the autumn of 2019, when, after the dismissal of the Dăncilă Cabinet, Ponta refused for his party to vote for the installation of the Orban 1 Government, Sorin Cîmpeanu, together with Daniel Constantin and several other party members, disregarded the order and granted confidence for the investment of the PNL Executive. The movement was immediately rewarded with seats on the liberal lists for the December 6 elections, and, after the formation of the PNL-USR-PLUS-UDMR Government, it also received the Education portfolio.

Vijulie, from Civil Servants, Secretary of State

In the next period, Sorin Cîmpeanu will be seconded to the leadership of the Ministry of Education by Violeta Vijulie, president of PNL Sector 3, as secretary of state. She still holds the position of president of the National Agency of Civil Servants and, this week, had a harsh attack on the USR-PLUS Minister of Health, Vlad Voiculescu, in the conflict between the latter and the mayor of Cluj-Napoca, Emil Boc, on the financing of vaccination centers. Voiculescu announced, live on TV, Violeta Vijulie that she will be changed from the management of the National Agency of Civil Servants.

In reply, Vijulie specified that the change comes as a result of the fact that, according to the political agreement, the Agency ended up in the “custody” of those from USR-PLUS. Violeta Vijulie will be in charge, as Secretary of State at the Ministry of Education, of the coordination of European funds and of the relationship with the Parliament.