Video appears to show answers being whispered to Daniel Zamfir at his hearing for Economy minister
A clip that went viral on social media appears to show a man seated next to PSD senator Daniel Zamfir repeatedly leaning in and whispering to him, hand over mouth, during his parliamentary hearing as proposed Economy minister in the Niculescu government. What was said cannot be heard. DeFapt.ro, citing political sources, says the man is a former secretary general of the ministry. Zamfir received a favourable vote of 48 to 26.
Footage of the moment:
A short video that spread widely on social media on Monday evening appears to show answers being whispered to Daniel Zamfir, the Social Democratic (PSD) senator nominated as Minister of Economy, Digitalisation, Entrepreneurship and Tourism in Prime Minister-designate Luca Niculescu's cabinet, during his hearing before the joint specialist committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate on 19 October. In the footage, first posted by the "Fără penali" page, Zamfir writes in a notebook while a younger man seated at his right repeatedly leans towards him and speaks with his hand over his mouth; Zamfir occasionally nods. The content of the whispers cannot be heard — the circulating version carries added comic music — so it is not possible to establish from the video what, if anything, he was told about the questions put by lawmakers.
According to DeFapt.ro, which cited unnamed political sources, the man whispering would be Darius Vodă, a former secretary general of the Economy Ministry who now serves as secretary general of the National Agency of Civil Servants (ANFP), and is regarded as close to the PSD; the same sources said a director from the ministry's legal department was also seated beside Zamfir. DeFapt noted that such senior civil servants are, in theory, politically neutral. The identification has not been independently confirmed, and at the time of publication neither Zamfir, the PSD nor Mr Vodă had publicly responded to the footage.
The hearing itself was tense: PNL senator Gabriela Horga accused Zamfir of stalling a bill on pensions and salaries, and USR's Radu Mihaiu reminded him that two weeks earlier he had signed, on live television, a pledge not to vote for a Niculescu government — a gesture Zamfir said referred only to refusing a "blank cheque" before the programme and cabinet were known, Cotidianul reported. The committees nonetheless approved his nomination with 48 votes in favour, 26 against and two abstentions, Agerpres reported. Parliament is due to hold the investiture vote on the Niculescu cabinet in a joint plenary session on Tuesday. Source: DeFapt.ro (with Agerpres, Cotidianul)