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| THE WEEK IN REVIEW (07-13.09.2009) |
| (2009-09-11) |
| Last updated: 2009-09-14 13:57 EET |
This past week, public discussions in Bucharest were dominated by the coalition Government’s announcement that they will take responsibility in Parliament, on September 15th, for three legislative packages that, they claim, will contribute to the ongoing reform of the state sector. The single payment system for public sector employees, the reform of the education system and the re-organisation of government agencies would generate, the initiators of the these laws claim, the modernisation of these fields, while reducing state budget spending, removing some of the more aberrant expenses.
For the moment though, the promised reforms have caused nothing but irritation. Not even the Social Democratic wing of the government seems convinced of the adequacy of taking responsibility in Parliament for these laws. The Liberal opposition has explicitly called on the government to give up this procedure which sidesteps both parliamentary debate and public opinion. Trade unions have become inflamed and are threatening large scale protests. On Thursday, discontent with the draft law on the single payment system, representatives of employees in the fields of education, finance, public administration, police and customs announced they would picket the Parliament building next week and also threatened with an all-out strike on October 5th, which could involve as many as 8 hundred thousand participants. They also plan to boycott the presidential election on November 22nd.
Although hit by the crisis, the private sector in the Romanian economy is faring well. On Tuesday the car making factory in Craiova, southern Romania, put on the market the first car produced by its new owner, the American company FORD. The model Transit Connect, a van destined for small traders, costs about 13 000 euros and is likely to be produced based on the orders received, perhaps reaching 300,000 cars per year.
The Romanian- American partnership is going very well, not only from an economic point of view but also politically speaking. The new US ambassador to Romania, Mark Gitenstein, met Romanian journalists for the first time, to present the priorities of his three-year mandate. He evoked the joint projects in the military and energy fields but warned amicably that Romania should struggle to offer a stable economic environment in order to keep attracting foreign investors. Transparency, the reform of economic policy, the strengthening of the rule of law and consulting the international business community are the expectations the American ambassador has from Romania, the country of origin of his grandparents and parents.
The normalisation of bilateral relations is, in exchange, Romania’s main expectation from the new pro-European leaders of the neighbouring Rep of Moldova. After 8 years of discretionary exertion of power and of hostile posturing towards Bucharest, the pro-Russian Communists in Chisinau, defeated in the July elections, seem to have eventually agreed to withdraw into opposition. President Vladimir Voronin and PM Zinaida Greceanii have stepped down and the four anti-Communist parties, associated in the so-called Alliance for European Integration, are trying to fill the power vacuum. For the moment, the Constitutional Court has validated Liberal Mihai Ghimpu as president of Parliament; he is a former anti-Soviet activist with pro-Romanian tendencies, who will also be interim president of the Rep of Moldova.
An international celebration of classical music, the George Enescu Festival, set up to pay homage to the work of the great Romanian composer, on Sunday designated its competition winners. After a contest which brought together hundreds of participants from tens of countries, and which critics have described as being ‘very closely fought’, the juries granted first prize to Amir Tebenikhin of Kazakhstan in the piano section, to Jaroslaw Nadrzycki of Poland in the violin section and to Lan Lan Cee of Hong Kong for composition.
While music lovers have enjoyed a bumper week, its been a poor seven days for football fans. After two draws, with France in Paris and with Austria in Bucharest, Romania’s national team has virtually lost all chances of qualifying for the World Cup, due in South Africa next year. With only nine points in 8 matches, the Romanians rank fifth in the preliminary group, the worst position in standings of the past 20 years. But things may look up in the future. After a three-nil win on home turf against the Republic of Moldova on Wednesday, and with four victories in as many games, Romania’s youth team has strengthened its leadership of the European Championship qualifying group.
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