​Future Minister of Finance Adrian Cachiu (PSD) says that “the business environment is important to determine the real needs of the economy” (statement here). However, a year ago he had other thoughts, which he was not afraid to write about on Facebook.

More precisely, a year and a half ago, Adrian Cachiu claimed that 90% of entrepreneurs are “baboons”.

In a comment on the post, responding to a user who said public sector workers are paid 100% of what the private sector produces, Adrian Cachiu argued that “the problem is that there is an imbalance in how private workers are paid, because we have only 10% are entrepreneurs, and the rest are baboons-entrepreneurs.”

This was reported by economist Bohdan Glavan.

Cachiu’s reaction:

The Minister of Finance published a post on Facebook in which he apologized “for the words of the past” and also stated that his words were taken out of context.

“The dialogue that took place a long time ago in social networks, when I was a simple economic analyst, today is taken out of context and used as if it were my position as a public servant.

The truth is simple: as the Minister of Finance, I support all entrepreneurs who pay their taxes correctly and pay their employees fairly. That is why the ministry that I represent has 6 support programs for Romanian companies with a total amount of about 4 billion euros. I have absolutely no tolerance for anyone else who chooses to avoid paying taxes.

I cannot but admit one fact: as an economist I often used terms that I sincerely regret today.

I apologize for all the harsh words in the past and I hope that my actions, namely the support of the Romanian business environment, will be more important than any direct statement, no matter how old it is.”