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| THE WEEK IN REVIEW (5-11/05/2008) |
| (2008-05-09) |
| Last updated: 2008-05-12 14:38 EET |
On May 9th Romania celebrated three major events: Europe’s Day, the victory over fascism and the day when Romania’s independence was proclaimed. According to Romanian president Traian Basescu, Europe’s Day will always be a time of reflection on the values and principles that underlie the Union, and Romania must observe all the rules of the European game. The president believes that the main state institutions should undergo a process of reform in order to live up to the level of EU performance. Traian Basescu:
“Statements of principle are no longer enough. The Parliament, the Government, and the Judiciary must observe each and every rule of the European game. Half measures are no longer acceptable. I’m referring in particular to the political class, which should not stand in the way of institutional reforms."
Also on May 9th, Romania celebrated 58 years since the surrender of Nazi Germany, which ended WWII, as well as 131 years since in 1877, Romania’s Foreign Minister Mihail Kogalniceanu proclaimed Romania’s independence, gained in the war it had fought beside Russia against Turkey.
The first week of campaign for June’s local elections has been dominated by the usual exchange of accusations between candidates, who left election programs come second. Candidates for 54 parties and independents have gathered on the start line. Mayor’s offices in big cities are the most disputed; 19 candidates are competing for Bucharest alone, some of them former or current ministers. For the first time since 1989, also eligible are the offices of county council chairs. “So far, the election campaign has resembled an arranged game, and the candidates have done nothing but praise each other”, Traian Basescu summed up the election campaign so far.
The president made that statement in an interview on the public radio station, during which he launched harsh accusations against several state institutions and against the leaders of the main opposition party, the Social Democratic Party. The president also attacked the Constitutional Court, saying that it had turned into a protective shield for the politicians suspected of having committed crimes. He went on to criticise the negotiations carried out by politicians and the dignitaries investigated for corruption, and suggested the constitution should be amended. President Basescu believes that the main state institutions cannot improve their activity unless they implement a genuine constitutional reform and called on a team of independent specialists to develop a project to that end, which would become subject for public debate by the end of the year. These statements triggered a wave of reactions among political leaders, most of whom have harshly criticised the head of the state.
The end of the national football championship, which brought the title to CFR Cluj has been shadowed by a judiciary investigation against the owner of Steaua Bucharest, Gigi Becali, accused of bribery. The business man is suspected of having tried to bribe Universitatea Cluj with 1.7 million Euro to defeat CFR, in which case Steaua would have been the winner of the championship. Gigi Becali claims, though, that the money found on 5 of his closest collaborators on the evening of the last leg of the championship were meant to be paid for a real estate transaction. It is not the first time that Becali is suspected of financially stimulating the adversaries of Steaua’s rivals. This is forbidden by the regulations of the Romanian Football Federation, and Steaua runs the risk of losing points as penalty if the investigators can prove the money was meant to go to Universitatea Cluj.
Last month, trade unionists with the Dacia Pitesti car plant in southern Romania, owned by the French company Renault, were on strike for 3 weeks, and got a salary raise close to what they had requested. This week it’s been the turn of the workers on the Mioveni industrial platform to go on strike. The platform manufactures spare parts for Automobile Dacia. The bone of contention was, again, money. The labour conflict at the Cortubil Company, part of the Dacia Mioveni industrial platform eventually ended after negotiations with the employers.
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2025-04-03
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