Romania and the European Union: How the Weak Vanquisjed the Strong By Tom Gallagher Reviewed by Christopher Lawson What are the key events in Romania over the last 20 years? This is a much abbreviated version. For 10 of those years, the former minor functionary and Ceausescu lieutenant Ion Iliescu held power. Communism was superficially [...]
Posts under ‘Romanian Politics’
Brasov: Capital of Romania
OTV, don’t you just love it? Populist and popular (though its audience is shrinking) OTV is the most honest television station in Romania. Honest because it fully admits that it serves up complete rubbish and never tries to hide the fact. Compare with Pro TV or Antena 1, whose programmes are just as pathetic and [...]
Elena’s capital ambitions are just the beginning
Our favourite Romanian politician, the incomparable Elena Udrea (Minister of Tourism and Regional Development), has often been accused – not least by some who write and comment on these pages – of not being up to the job. This week, however, Udrea knocked such accusations for six with a devastating display of political acumen, nous [...]
Where next?
It’s hard to see where Emil Boc’s government goes from here. It managed a stay of execution by whacking up VAT, so it should get another handout from the IMF and EU, but it comes at the cost of whatever credibility it still had. Boc’s fragile and patched together coalition only just survived a no-confidence [...]
Today in Romania’s parliament, Good does battle with Evil. It really is as simple as that
Romania’s MPs will today vote on a motion of no confidence put forward by the opposition that is in effect a vote on the drastic budget cuts announced by the PDL-led government of Traian Basescu and Little Emil Boc last month. For many of Romania’s most desperate group of people – pensioners – the vote [...]