Claudiu Năsui: 'Milei is the best thing that happened to freedom since the fall of the Wall'

In this exclusive interview with La Derecha Diario, Claudiu Năsui—former Minister of Economy of Romania and current deputy—reflects on the serious institutional crisis his country is experiencing following the cancellation of the presidential elections, an event he describes as "a blow to democracy." From a liberal perspective, Năsui denounces the role of the Romanian political caste and warns about the deterioration of his nation's democratic and economic credibility.

A declared admirer of Javier Milei, whom he considers "the best president in the world", Năsui draws parallels between the challenges of Romania and those of Argentina before the libertarian government. In a deep analysis, the Romanian economist values the fiscal chainsaw, criticizes gradualism, and calls to replicate the Argentine example in Eastern Europe. "Argentina found the cure. The world should look at what's working," he states.

The full interview with Claudiu Năsui

Ares: How do you interpret the suspension of the elections in Romania, an unprecedented decision, and what implications does it have for the country, its democratic institutions, and sovereignty?

Năsui: I believe it was a blow to democracy in Romania, because we basically had elections, there were results where the two main political parties—which have been in power for 35 years since the Romanian revolution—did not make it to the second round. What did they do? They recounted the votes.

Even so, they did not enter the runoff. Then, they annulled the elections. And I am very critical of that.

I am not a supporter of the candidate who won the first round. That candidate is basically an old-school socialist, one of those who love Ceaușescu. It would have been terrible news for Romania if that person were president. But still, if we live in a democracy, we must respect the results, right? That's why I find it very serious.

And now Romania has a problem selling itself to the world as a democracy after that annulment. The official version is that this candidate received Russian funding and used it on TikTok to convince people. I'm not saying it didn't happen, nor that he didn't violate funding rules, because he should have declared those funds.

But I don't think that was the real reason. They did it because their candidates were not in the second round. That becomes clear when you see they did the recount, and since the result was the same, they decided to annul it. It doesn't make sense.

So it was very sad. But, on the other hand, I'm glad that type didn't win. The libertarian part of me is happy we don't have such a socialist president, although I would have liked him to lose democratically. That would have been fair.

Ares: With the current political situation in Romania, how do you see the government's stance on economic liberalization and some free-market reforms?

Năsui: Romania is in a very bad situation, although not as bad as Argentina before Milei. The difference is that Romania is part of the European Union. So, you always have a plan B. There's always someone who can rescue you with cheap credits, countries much richer than Romania. Argentina didn't have that. And that's a double-edged sword. Because to start solving problems, sometimes you have to hit rock bottom. Argentina hit rock bottom.

And now they have, to me, the best president in the world. It's the only government doing what needs to be done. But they only got there because they hit rock bottom. Romania won't do that. It will always receive bailouts. And that scares me because all it does is prolong the agony.

Socialism fails. But if you always rescue it, you can extend its life indefinitely. In the short term, we have a huge deficit: 9% of GDP. You had 5.4%. We have 9%. Double. And the only ones governing don't talk about cutting spending, only about raising taxes.

I'm on the Budget and Finance Committee. I worked with budgets before entering politics. Spending is never cut. They only make cosmetic changes, fire a few people to simulate an adjustment. But the numbers don't go down, they always go up, even more than inflation.

What Milei achieved in Argentina, turning the deficit into a surplus, is unbelievable. It's difficult in the short term. People suffer, the economy has to restructure. But in the long term, you heal. It's like an alcoholic who has to stop drinking. At first, it's hard, but then he can have a happy life. Romania, on the other hand, keeps drinking. More socialism, more debt, more bailouts. And I think the next government will do exactly the same.

Ares: Do you think the Romanian people are ready for a change? To implement the "chainsaw" model in public spending and bureaucracy? Or do they want to continue with more taxes and more bailouts?

Năsui: I think so. The Romanian people are ready. In fact, that's one of my main political struggles: talking about deregulation, eliminating expenses, closing state agencies.

We have thousands. The famous video of Milei with the signs and the "out!" is exactly what I propose. The problem is that the establishment, "the caste," doesn't want to do that. Because they live off that spending.

What's happening in Argentina is unbelievable. A government that is truly on the side of the people, facing a system with decades of inertia.

That also happens in Romania, in the U.S., in France. It's always a privileged minority fighting to maintain their privileges at the expense of an impoverished majority.

That's why I talk so much about Milei. They ask me why I talk about Argentina if I'm Romanian. It's because we all have the same disease. And now someone is applying the cure.

It's no longer theory. It's a practical case, like East and West Germany, or North and South Korea. Different systems, same people, completely different results. After the Second World War, Germany was destroyed. But it adopted a good system and became a power.

And now we have Argentina. I remember the first time I read about Javier Milei in the newspaper. It said there was a presidential candidate in Argentina who wanted to cut more spending than the IMF proposed. All the other candidates said "we're not going to do what the IMF asks, we're going to negotiate."

But Milei said: "That's nothing compared to what I'm going to do. I'm going to cut three times more."

And I thought: "Wow! This guy is really saying what I believe." When he won, it was a great moment. I remember a talk with friends from my party, some said: "He won't last even a few months, in a year he's out. He's too extreme, people won't accept him."

But over time, the good results started to accumulate. And today I won all those bets. Not for money, but for proving that economic problems have solutions.

Socialism is not the solution to poverty. Socialism creates it. And although it sounds intuitive to say "we're going to help the poor," the truth is that concentrating power in the hands of politicians doesn't help them. It does the opposite.

What helps the poor is freedom, libertarianism, capitalism. That's what Milei did.

Ares: To what extent do your economic policies align with those of Javier Milei? Are there differences, or do you share a common vision?

Năsui: Listening to his translated speeches—because I don't speak fluent Spanish—I realized that we are completely aligned philosophically. We read the same books.

I consider myself an economist of the Austrian School. The differences are in the circumstances: for example, in Argentina, they had the "cepo," the exchange control. In Romania, we don't have that, so I don't need to talk about that issue.

In fact, I celebrated when they recently eliminated it. There's no more "blue dollar." And I told the Romanians: "Look, we're still better, we don't have that."

But in terms of philosophy, we are 100% aligned. We need to reduce spending in Romania too. We need to take power away from the State and give it to the people.

There's no better system for allocating resources than the free market. Even China understood that. If we don't apply this, we will have more poverty. Those who suffer the most are those who don't have access to State privileges.

The left calls it "crony capitalism," and they're right: that needs to be eradicated. But what generates that crony capitalism is giving more power to the State. That's why there are "progressive" billionaires who actually get rich thanks to subsidies and state privileges.

Ares: Here in Argentina, we see a lot of that crony capitalism. It's part of the caste.

Năsui: In Romania too. It's not just politics: it's the press, business, bureaucracy. It's the "deep state," the deep state. But we are aligned 99%. The remaining 1% is due to local differences between Argentina and Romania.

And something I would like to say to Milei: I saw an interview where he said he wants to retire after 2031, when his second term ends. I think it would be a loss for humanity.

Because even if he can no longer be president of Argentina, there's much more to do in the world. Argentina is the example where libertarian ideas really worked. The minimal State. They work if applied. Because many in other countries preach them, but don't apply them.

Libertarianism is like medicine: if you know it exists but don't take it, it's useless. It must be applied. And Argentina is the only country in the world doing it correctly. And with much faster results than expected.

Ares: And speaking of that, I would like to know your opinion on Milei's impact at the international level. Is he revitalizing the global libertarian movement?

Năsui: Yes, totally. He's generating two things: First, he's giving libertarians the courage to speak up and defend their ideas. I used to feel very alone in Romanian politics. Now I can say: "Look at what they're doing there, and it works." Second, it offers a real example. Today I read something from Ian Bremmer, an American political analyst. When Milei won, he said it would be a disaster.

Ares: He wrote an article in Time magazine where they listed him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Năsui: Yes, and today I read that Ian Bremmer acknowledged: "I was wrong. Milei was right. This is the way." That's the kind of international impact we need. Milei recently said: "If socialists understood economics, they wouldn't be socialists." I would say: "If they really wanted to end poverty, they wouldn't be either."

Argentina is now the practical example we can show the world. And what I hope is that Milei starts leading an international libertarian movement. That he exports ideas, that he organizes. Even if he retires, he has already done so much for freedom. Jesús Huerta de Soto said it's the best thing that happened to freedom since the fall of the Berlin Wall. And I think he's right.

Ares: To finish, I ask you directly: why is Javier Milei important for Romania?

Năsui: Because we have the same problems that Argentina had. And Argentina shows us the way to heal. We have an even bigger deficit, but the solution is the same.

Milei rejected gradualism, something I find very hard to make people understand in Romania. Politicians always want to avoid conflict. They prefer to keep spending other people's money to have an easy life.

If they find a cure, they want to apply it so gradually that they never implement it. Like the alcoholic: if the doctor tells him to drink 99% of today tomorrow, and 98% the day after tomorrow, he dies. You have to tell him: "Stop drinking now!"

That's what Milei did. He explained it would be difficult at first, but then it would get better. And he achieved it faster than he himself had said. And that's why socialists hate him. Because he's beating them at their own metric: poverty.

They say capitalism generates wealth, but socialism reduces poverty. False. Capitalism generates wealth and reduces poverty. Socialism destroys wealth and creates poverty. Milei explained it, applied it, and the results are visible. And that's the message that Romanians also need to hear.

Hayek said that to take a big leap, you first have to step back. And that's what Argentina showed. It's a case study. Romania has many economic problems, and much unnecessary suffering. But we can improve if we do the right thing. And Milei shows us what is right.