PSD Faces Crisis Over New Incompatibility Law
Cătălin Drulă accused PSD of mobilizing state institutions to avoid incompatibility issues for local councilors. A recent change in the Administrative Code caused confusion, especially with Article 550(6) affecting contractual staff. Lia Olguța Vasilescu allegedly pressured ANI for favorable interpretations. Development Minister Cseke Attila clarified the law's application, exempting certain state-employed councilors. Drulă criticized the handling, comparing it to the 'Fritz amendment' situation.
Cătălin Drulă, a deputy from the USR party, has accused the Social Democratic Party (PSD) of attempting to manipulate state institutions in response to a new law affecting the compatibility of local and county councilors. The controversy stems from a recent amendment to the Administrative Code, which has created confusion among officials.
The law in question, Law 165/2026, was published on August 6 and came into effect on August 9. It introduced Article 550(6), which extends incompatibility rules to contractual staff working for the state. This change has forced many councilors to choose between maintaining their mandates or their state jobs. The new provision caught many officials off guard. Its implications were not immediately clear to most legislators.
Drulă highlighted PSD's delayed recognition of the problem. Messages were urgently sent to councilors on a Monday night. "Big agitation today at PSD! A recently adopted law that no one read carefully makes local councilors incompatible if they work on a labor contract for the state," Drulă said.
In response to the turmoil, Lia Olguța Vasilescu, the Mayor of Craiova, reportedly exerted pressure on the National Integrity Agency (ANI) to declare that the new law does not apply. However, ANI's response was only partially supportive, according to Drulă.
To address the issue, a legislative intervention was proposed to eliminate the incompatibility for councilors, except those in leadership roles. The new proposal suggests that leadership-related incompatibility would apply only after the current mandate. It offers amnesty for those already deemed incompatible.
Cseke Attila, the Development Minister, sent an official address to prefectures. The document, MDLPA/196227/25.08.2026, emphasized the "special law prevails" principle. It stated that Article 88 of Law 161/2003, which governs councilor incompatibilities, does not prohibit all state jobs for councilors. Teachers and medical staff are exempt from the new article according to his clarification. The document contested the automatic interpretation of the incompatibility.
Drulă criticized Minister Cseke's legal interpretations, labeling them as "legal contortionism," though the argument is grounded in recognized legal doctrine. He compared this situation to the case involving Timișoara Mayor Dominic Fritz, where the PSD and AUR supported an amendment to the Integrity Law mandating the end of mandates for those found incompatible for three years.
The Constitutional Court recently upheld the "Fritz amendment" as constitutional, despite dissent from three judges who argued it violated the principle of non-retroactivity. Drulă accused the PSD of double standards and extended his criticism to broader institutional dysfunction, echoing President Iohannis's sentiment of a "failed state."
Drulă also argued that general incompatibility for councilors is unjust, as they require employment, and eliminating public sector jobs for them is "aberrant." Such episodes, he warned, erode public trust in institutions.
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