Loading ...The Liberals (PNL) and the Social Democrats (PSD) decided on Monday to delay Parliament’s vote on the Government formed by Prime Minister designate Lucian Croitoru till next Wednesday, i.e. up to the limit set by the rules of the parliamentary sessions, says the Jurnalul National in an item headlined ‘Croitoru is left at Parliament’s door’.
The ministers named by Croitoru will be heard by Parliament’s commissions from this Wednesday, with the deadline to be extended till Friday, the leadership of the two houses of Parliament decided on Monday.
The decision annoyed the Democratic Liberals (PD-L), who accused political manoeuvring, the Ziua reports. Parliament’s plenary debates and vote on the Croitoru Cabinet were set for next Wednesday, when President Traian Basescu celebrates his anniversary.
The Social Democrats and Liberals keep the Croitoru team in the antechamber, the Romania libera says, while the Azi headlines: ‘A short-lived Government with few professionals’.
The Jurnalul National quotes presidential hopeful Sorin Oprescu as saying he would like to be a coach president, unlike incumbent Traian Basescu who is a player president. The independent candidate ‘says he has the power to coalesce all the forces responsible for the national interest, in case he becomes president. Oprescu says he knows many people are fed up with politics and therefore they do not want to go to the ballot box, but he believes it is up to every one of us to change things to the better’, the daily reports.
The economic crisis has made President Basescu’s public approval plunge, the Evenimentul zilei reports. CURS pollsters manager Catalin Stoica argues this is the result of the fact that Basescu was perceived by the Romanians as the one who generated the political crisis that overlapped the recession.
In an interview with the Evenimentul zilei, Stoica points out: ‘While Basescu, four or five years ago, was perceived as a firm and determined leader, now – in an utterly different context – similar moves he makes are interpreted as indicating stubbornness that is harmful for the country. Such a change of context can create Traian Basescu serious problems’.
Romania is running the risk of not being able to meet its commitment to the International Monetary Fund, the Bucharest-based dailies report. The Ziua quotes President Basescu as saying on Monday that Romania will not be able to meet all its obligations under the loan agreement with the IMF by year-end and that it will be necessary to revise the agreement terms for 2010.
Because of the chaos on the domestic political scene, Romania looks set to fail meeting by year-end its most important commitments made to the foreign financiers, that should have enabled it to receive the next 2.5 billion euro tranches from the loan agreement relevant to 2009.
One of the critical issues in the talks with the experts from the IMF, the European Commission and the World Bank to be held over Oct. 28-Nov. 9 in Bucharest will be the expenditure for the public sector wages, the Evenimentul zilei stresses. Although the Government assumed responsibility for the wage law as early as last month, the bill that should clear Parliament by Oct. 30 is still waiting for the Constitutional Court verdict, the daily adds.
The Romanians’ outstanding loan repayment has trebled, Tuesday’s print media quotes figures released by the National Bank of Romania as showing. Such outstanding crediting incurred by the population and the companies totalled 6.5 billion lei at end-Sept., i.e. more than three times higher on the same period a year ago; their share of the loan balance climbed to 3.25 percent from 1.1 percent.
The value of the national leu currency loans yet to be paid increased two and a half times from Sept. 2008, while the value of such euro loans rose 4.5 times on last Sept. ‘Romanians work in order to pay their debts’, says the Adevarul, while the Curierul National points out that the bad debtors ‘have deprived the banks of 1.5 billion euros’.
Financial consultancy is profitable business at times of recession, says the Gandul. ‘Out of 2,000 consultancies on European financing, we can safely say of 500 that they are advancing, even though their activity has shrunk from last year. Of them, about one hundred are really doing a good job and are making a profit’, the Gandul reports.
The trade unions accuse a lack of dialogue with President Traian Basescu and they say the pension reform and the reforms of the salary policies have failed, the Cotidianul reports. It quotes Cartel Alfa confederation president Bogdan Hossu as saying social dialogue has deteriorated in the last years and it has been conducted in a rather communist manner, by formal, not constructive communication.
The Gandul runs the most recent information released by the World Health Organisation that shows one of four Romanians is obese and one of two has weight problems. Specialists caution that the number of obese teens is rising and they blame junk food, a lack of exercise, long hours in front of the computer or television for this phenomenon.
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