Financiarul

The developments in the Romanian political scene related to the designation of a prime minister by President Traian Basescu after the cabinet of Democratic Liberal Emil Boc fell following a vote of no confidence in Parliament and the possible consequences that a prolonged political crisis might have on the economy are the main topics covered by the Romanian dailies on Thursday.

President Traian Basescu rejected a proposal made on Wednesday by the new parliamentary majority made up of the Social Democratic Party + the Conservative Party (PSD+PC), the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) and the ethnic minorities to designate Sibiu mayor Klaus Johannis as the new Prime Minister, who should put together a Government of technocrats to manage the country’s affairs till the Nov. 22 presidential election, the Jurnalul National reports.

The head of state opened his remarks at the consultations with the parliamentary parties late on Wednesday by levelling accusations on the groupings making up the new majority in Parliament.

The Constitutional Court and the political parties, according to Basescu, are the main to blame for the impossibility to pay the pensions and wages, the Ziua reports.

Basescu rejected a proposal by the five parties that want a Government of technocrats. The president instead wants a Government of politicians, even one of national union and it may be headed by independent Johannis.

The governmental crisis was prolonged yesterday, after the Romanian leader announced he does not believe in the validity of a technocrats’ Government, but he didn’t announce the name of another possible premier either.

Instead, he invited the parties to directly assume the responsibility of governance, the Romania libera writes. President Traian Basescu’s meeting with the party leaders at the Cotroceni Palace (the presidential offices) began tensely, with the reporters attending and continued to be tense after the journalists were invited to leave the room.

After the press left, Basescu resumed his anti-technocrats rhetoric, arguing that the interim ruling Democratic Liberal Party (PD-L) won the Nov. 2008 elections, therefore it has the right to make up the Government.

Sources participating in the consultations told the Jurnalul National that Basescu had suggested that if the opposition gave up their nomination of Klaus Johannis, he could accept naming an independent premier who ‘should speak the IMF language’.

The Democratic Liberals seem willing to negotiate with the rest of the parties the issue of forming a national union government, with a political, not independent or technocrat premier, to have a limited term till the presidential polls, the Jurnalul National reports.
A CCSB survey conducted on Oct. 10-11 and carried by Thursday’s print media reveals that Basescu could be defeated by Social Democratic leader Mircea Geoana, National Liberal leader Crin Antonescu or Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu in the second round of the presidential balloting due in late November.

The Romanians’ interest in the elections on Nov. 22 is moderate, with 56 percent of the respondents saying they are interested, while 44 percent say they are not interested in such elections. On the voter turnout, the CCSB survey reveals 42 percent of the polled answered they will go to the ballot box, 13 percent said they will not be in the town of residence on the election day and 45 percent anticipate they will not cast a ballot.

The Liberals want an indefinite Prime Minister’s term for Klaus Johannis, the Social Democrats want him to head the new Government only till the presidential election. The leaders of the PSD-PNL-UDMR coalition kept on backing Johannis for Premier after the consultations with President Basescu.

All the party leaders, less the Democratic Liberals, rejected the idea of a political Government launched by Basescu and asked the president to acknowledge the existence of a new parliamentary majority.

The PNL and PSD are united by their anti-Basescu strategy, but they hold differing views of Johannis’s mandate, should the Sibiu mayor get to be the Prime Minister, says the Evenimentul zilei in summing up Wednesday’s events.

The economists argue there is only one way for Romania to come out of the recession and they point to the agreement with the International Monetary Fund. The only thing the new Romanian Government should do is to meet the requirements set in the agreement as soon as possible, the Gandul writes. No matter what the new Government’s composition – be it one of politicians or not – the executive has only one way to follow – to meet the agreement with the IMF, to observe the deadlines and figures required by the international lender.
Furthermore, the new executive will not have a free hand in attaining the IMF targets, since the measures that must be taken have already been announced, according to some economists quoted by the Gandul.

The chances that the disbursement of the third tranche of the IMF agreement be delayed are quite big. If this should be the case, next spring the state will have to cut the investment spending and to borrow money from the banks in order to pay the wages and pensions, the Cotidianul says.

Romania is still in a political crisis, but we are lucky, since the International Monetary Fund is much more lenient than before and accepts that the budget be sent to Parliament later in order to disburse the third 1.5 million euros tranche, the Ziarul financiar announces.

The Government’s fall will not have an immediate significant economic impact, given that the economy seem to be well isolated from politics, while the IMF and European Union will continue to accept the slippages from the agreement till the presidential election, the Bucharest-based dailies quote credit rating agency Moody’s as saying. The agency warns that the international institutions will adopt a tougher tone in 2010, the Jurnalul National reports.

The political strife has produced a first consequence: the national leu currency is losing ground to the euro. ‘Moody’s: The Government’s fall will not have a major economic impact on the short-term’ headlines the Curentul, while the Libertatea says ‘The political crisis drives Romania into collapse – the leu is falling’.

In spite of the cold weather, more than 100,000 Romanian Christian Orthodox pilgrims took part in the religious ceremonies celebrating Pious Saint Parascheva in the eastern Iasi city over the last few days.

After having spent a cold night in chilling wind and rain on Wednesday, the faithful listened to a special religious service officiated by a group of 50 priests, among whom nine senior Christian Orthodox clerics. The feast ended in a meal offered the pilgrims, shows and fireworks, the Romanian newspapers report.