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| A SURPRISE PROPOSITION 25/09/2009 |
| (2009-09-25) |
| Last updated: 2009-09-28 14:49 EET |
On Thursday, Romanian president Traian Basescu managed to completely drown the echoes of the opposition’s failed censure motion.
He called on Parliament hold a referendum to merge its two bodies into a single-chamber legislative body, as well as to reduce the number of members of Parliament from 471 to 300.
Basescu named some of the advantages of this reform: faster law-making process compared to now, when many bills get stuck between the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, cutting back on expenses, and reducing corruption in the legislative assembly. Also, claiming concern towards excessive budget spending, Basescu expressed his desire that the referendum be held on November the 22nd, the same day as round one of the upcoming presidential elections. “Basescu is rounding up his electorate”, said sociologist Mircea Kivu, noting that his proposition fits the people’s expectations like a glove.
According to polls, 53 percent of the population is in favour of the single-chamber Parliament, with 22 percent against. Parliament, discredited by the indolence, incompetence and corruption of its members, ranks among the least trusted Romanian state authorities. Rich in anti-presidential sarcasm, daily “Cotidianul” wrote that “While his adversaries are taking a nap, the perfidious president is turning the country upside down” .
The newspaper also accused Basescu of having contaminated the electoral campaign, where many expected the president to try and compensate for his past mistakes through a populist proposition. However, other publications call this proposition “one that cannot be refused”. Awakened from their so-called nap, Basescu’s opponents rejected this initiative, claiming it’s nothing more than an electoral stunt.
When talking about Basescu’s proposition, social-democrat leader Mircea Geoana and liberal head of party, Crin Antonescu, were not reluctant to use words like “trickery”, “populist measure” and “desperation".
Leaving humour aside, be it pro- or anti-Basescu, political scientist Cristian Parvulescu had this to sayŞ
“I fear that this debate will not be well informed, and will pretty much corrupt the discussions regarding the next president’s mandate, the president’s stand on the economic crisis, and other key aspects. I believe that the current president has a major part to play, and a debate meant to take the candidates in that direction would be welcome. If we keep focusing on making Parliament unicameral, we would waste a good opportunity to make this campaign not only a European campaign, but also an act of civic education.”
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