The first round of Romanian presidential election as seen by foreign publications

Romanians' votes at home and abroad crucial for the country's future

Daniela Budu, 11.11.2019, 13:50

The international press has covered the result of the first ballot of presidential election in Romania. According to Euronews, if incumbent Klaus Iohannis wins a second term in office, “he will have the chance to install chief prosecutors who say they are committed to tackling endemic corruption, backed by the liberal minority government of prime Minister Ludovic Orban, an ally who won a parliamentary vote of confidence this month”. Also according to Euronews, “observers said a win for Iohannis might bolster the Liberal Partys chance of forming a coalition government after a general election due in 2020 and restore investor confidence eroded by several years of political instability and fiscal largesse”. According to the Italian page of Euronews, the re-election of Iohannis could put an end to the institutional conflict between the presidency and the social-democrat governments, which has been a running thread for Romanian politics in recent years.” In the same vein, Reuters British news agency has headlined that if Iohannis is reelected, that is meant to restore the investors confidence, for many years eroded by political instability and fiscal lassitude. In turn, the New York Times writes that the win of Romanias centrist president Klaus Iohannis, on whom the West heaped praise for his anti-graft stance, could bolster investors confidence, in the wake of many years of political and fiscal instability. French publication Le Figaro has written that this past Sundays presidential election strengthens Romanias pro-European commitment. Associated Press News agency has headlined Romania held presidential election/Pro EU candidate is favorite. Associated Press took up on the analysis provided by Romanian expert Andrei Taranu stating polarization caused by the political crisis worked well for the first two presidential hopefuls. That kept Klaus Iohannis and Viorica Dancila in the spotlight, whereas other candidates hardly stood any chance to secure their affirmation on the political stage.